Acceptance
by chloewren
Summary: Sometimes you just have to accept what you cannot change, even if you don't want to.Rated T
1. Chapter 1

I am not sure exactly where in my mind this came from. It just popped into my head after rereading one of the books. Plus, i know a guy just like this.

Please leave reviews, as feedback feeds the muse.

Rated : M for mature theme, Language and sex.

Acceptance

Steph caressed the smooth, dark, hairy skin of his hand, lying limply on the sheet as he slept. She sniffed quietly, trying to keep the tears from falling down her cheeks. She wished she could let him see the tears, know the pain she was feeling, the ache in her heart that he wanted to share so little of himself with her. If he heard or saw her tears, he would end their relationship. He would say she "wanted more than he could give her."

The thing was, she did want more than he could give her. Or more than he wanted to give her, at any rate. She had only consented to the deal- the only sex thing, because it got her into at least a small section of his life. Better a small part than none at all. Even if she had to bite her tongue every time they were together to keep from blurting out how much she loved him.

Ranger had made it clear to her repeatedly that there was no room in his life for relationships. It was obvious that he wanted her or one thing only. He was a considerate lover. He was always very sweet and tender with her in bed, and he was an excellent lover. He always made sure she climaxed before he did, and on a couple of occasions, his tongue had spent an hour pleasuring her. But he would never let her into other areas of his life. It had been going on like this for almost four years.

She stroked his arm again and wondered how a man who could be so sweet and tender in bed could be so callous and emotionless out of it. Her sniffing seemed loud in the quiet of the room. The stillness was broken only by the soft sound of his breathing as he lay sleeping, oblivious to her pain. She wanted so much for him to comfort her, to take her in his arms and tell her it was ok, that he loved her. She wanted him to open himself up and let what could happen between them happen. But that would mean letting go-giving up some control. And control was the name of the game for Ranger. Never out of control, never in danger of feeling anything.

He spent quite a bit of time and energy keeping her out of various aspects of his life. He spoke volumes on her physical attributes, how much he liked her breasts, her leanness, the tight hotness of her vagina as he slipped inside. But he never spoke about her. What he liked about her. What he felt about her. The everyday details of her life that she wanted to share with him.

Ranger had spent years hardening himself. She was sure he had been hurt at least once, since he seemed deathly afraid of feelings. He was always so measured and careful in conversations, so careful not to say anything that could be construed as him having feelings for her. Maybe he was afraid acknowledging feelings would make him seem weak. More likely though, he was afraid to feel, afraid to love, because loving meant risking. Loving someone or something meant risking getting hurt by them or the hurt of losing them. For all his immense physical strength and toughness, Ranger's emotions were powerful, and she thought overwhelming. She suspected he had once given reign to his emotions and allowed himself to feel for a woman, and it hurt him terribly. Now, he had constructed a wall to keep anyone from entering his heart. Stephanie kept bruising herself banging against and ricocheting off that wall. Yet she kept banging her battered and bruised heart against it, hoping that if she hit it just one more time, she might catapult over it into the forbidden land of Ranger's emotions.

She wanted to tell him that it was ok, that she wouldn't hurt him. That she loved him and accepted him for who and what he was. But she knew that if she said that, Ranger would literally run from her, going "into the wind" where she wouldn't see him or a month. He was so scared of feelings. But he didn't have to be afraid of her.

She stumbled up from the bed and went into his pristine bathroom, noting the neatness. The toothbrush and toothpaste, rolled neatly from the bottom, and razor were lined up in little rows on the sink just ready to be used efficiently and put right back in the same spot. Not like her bathroom, where items were thrown haphazardly on the sink and the tube was squeezed from the middle. Seeing the toothbrush and razor on the sink brought the tears back to her eyes. These were highly personal items, parts of Ranger's everyday life. A life she didn't really get to share.

The overly neat bathroom was just a metaphor for how Ranger lived his whole life- everything in its place, nothing in the wrong place. Each thing in its own little compartment, ready to be used for the exact purpose it was meant and then put back right into its neat, orderly spot. No possibility of using the razor before the toothbrush, or accidentally squeezing the toothpaste from the middle. Everything in Ranger's life was carefully regimented so that no hint of spontaneity, no succumbing to a whim or feeling was possible. Hence the all black wardrobe. Sure it made him look sexy as hell but Ranger would look sexy in anything. The all black was simply his way of keeping it simple- no thought, no emotion, just black pants, black shirt, and black boots.

Even Stephanie was in a compartment. She was confined to Ranger's "sexual pleasure" compartment, never to be allowed to spill over into any other aspect of his life. She never went places with him, they never dated. She never got to go shopping with him or meet his family. He just came to her when he wanted physical gratification. They never made love, they "had sex."

She sat back down on the bed, wiping her face with a tissue as she stroked his face. She played gently with his hair, kissing his eyelids softly as he slept. She didn't believe that he didn't care for her. Once in awhile, some of his emotions slipped past his façade of emotionless control. It was evident in how he talked to her, made her laugh, gave her cars, spent lots of money and men protecting her. Surely he wouldn't be so careful of her safety if he didn't care for her? He was so tender and sweet in bed, often kissing the top of her head when she lay in his arms. Surely, if he didn't have feelings for her he wouldn't do this. Wouldn't emotionless sex be quick and fast and not tender?

Most women would think she was crazy, not wanting a guy who would date her and love her. But Steph knew Ranger, she understood him. He had let her closer to him than anyone had ever gotten, and she accepted that that was probably as far as she'd ever get.

Ranger stirred, and caressed her leg. Stephanie quickly dried her tears, knowing Ranger's senses would pick up on the slightest sign of tears. In the soft tenderness of early morning and the dim light in the room, Stephanie could almost pretend that they were a loving couple- husband and wife, caressing lovingly in the middle of the night. Instead, Ranger grabbed her and pulled her under him again, his hips thrusting as he entered her. She almost cried at his tenderness as he caressed her. She tried not to let her love for him show in her gaze as he thrust into her. She knew that sex was the only way Ranger could ever show her how he felt about her. The bedroom would be the only place his emotions could come out. If this was all she could have of him, then she would make it be enough. She sniffed and tried to be content with that, even as her heart was breaking.


	2. Chapter 2

I guess I see Ranger as a darker soul, more as he is in the books. He isn't really an a, just a troubled soul. ( Anyone know a good therapist?)

Please leave feedback, as it helps me write better.

Acceptance-Part 2

Ranger's POV

Stephanie thinks I am asleep, but I see the tears in her eyes, the trembling of her hands as they stroke mine. Whenever she thinks I can't see, she allows the emotion to escape from her tightly held persona. I told her not to do it. I told her not to get emotionally involved with me. I told her all it was- all it was ever going to be- is sex. She said she's ok with that , but I can see the barely suppressed tears in her eyes, hear the quivering of her voice as she desperately tries to keep it steady. She tries not to let on that she is feeling, but it is obvious that she is. She tries to hide it, but it is written all over her face, it glistens in her eyes. She tries to pretend that she has accepted that we will never be anything but what we are. She tries to keep conversation light, tries to make jokes , tries to keep me at a distance that is much farther than I really am from her heart. I want to push her away, because the sadness and longing in her eyes makes me feel guilty for not giving her something that I can't. A few times now, I have pushed her away because I felt guilty because she loves me. I actually ended it , once for three months, whenever she expressed any feelings. It gets too intense for me.

The trouble is, I don't want her love. I don't want anyone's love. I don't have room in my life for love, or romance. She said she understood that, she said she would accept it. I told her I wanted sex, and I always give her amazing sex, so she should be satisfied. I am a good lover and I love to pleasure her with my tongue, sometimes for hours. I love feeling her writhe under me in the throes of orgasm. I love and worship the curve of her face, the shape of her breasts, and the hotness of her vagina as I slide inside it. I hate seeing the love shining in her eyes, so I try not to look at them. It makes me feel guilty for not loving her back. I can't love her back. Even if I wanted to, which I don't.

I can't give her my heart, because I am not sure that I still have one. I have suppressed it for so long, its like I never had one. Even before I entered the military, I was very stoic and kept my emotions in check. I knew how powerful they could be, how they could sweep me away if I left them. Emotions do you no good in war zones, where weaknesses can be fatal.

The only time I ever let myself feel was for a woman who left me while I was captive in Columbia. I loved her more than anything, she was what kept me going through the torture and pain. When I got back to the States and went to her arms, I found them around my best friend, whom she'd fucked two weeks after I was captured. Then, I lost my father, the one who had been my everything as a child. I thought the pain of those two events would kill me. They hurt worse than the pinchers they used to take off my fingernails in Columbia, more than the strap they would flay my flesh with, more than the scalding burns I received at the hands of guerillas. The pain of it almost stifled me. My emotions threatened to maim me the way no physical injury ever had.

Since I left the military, I have kept my life orderly. I am a powerful, strong , physical specimen. My life has continued in many ways, to be as regimented as the military. I still run every morning, lift for hours every day, and eat the same foods. I turned out to be an astute businessman in addition to being a badass, so I have quite a bit of money and security. My apartment is orderly and neat. Everything is right where it should be, in my closet, my bathroom, and my refrigerator. Even my sleek black cars are easily interchangeable. Life is easier when I am in control of my surroundings and my thoughts.

Stephanie is the absolute opposite of orderly. Her life is chaos, reckless abandon. How she has survived this long is beyond me. She has exploded many of my fancy cars, but I don't care about the cars. How can I let myself love someone I might lose so easily? Letting her into more of my life than my bedroom, would be disastrous.

I cannot let myself love her or anyone else.

I have a daughter, and I am not an asshole loser, so I make sure to do my duty to her as a father. I send support checks, birthday and Christmas presents, top notch security measures, and occasionally I make a half hearted visit to her in Florida. But I have deliberately kept a distance even from her. If I let myself love something as precious as a child, a part of me, it would probably be my undoing. So I have never built a relationship with my daughter, either. Loving a child. loving anyone is upredictable disorderly,it makes you vulnerable. I cannot allow myself to be vulnerable. Those who are vulnerable don't survive.

I hear Steph sniffle as she comes back from my bathroom. I know what she wants. Once she asked me how I felt about her. That freaked me out. I can't even think about letting myself love her. I will protect her, I will loan her an endless amount of cars, give her money, and give her pleasure. I cannot give her my heart. She wanted me to tell her that I love her or even that I care about her. I can never care about her. I told her that she is entertaining and amusement for me and my men. That hurt her. I could tell by the wounded look in her eye. I don't want to hurt her. I never want to hurt her. But she wouldn't be hurt if she didn't have feelings. So, its her fault for feeling. I never lied to her about what I wanted.

I have tried to share as much of myself as I could with Steph. In some ways, I have been more intimate with her than I ever have with a woman. But I cannot give her what she wants, and I know that hurts her. But it would hurt me more. And I am nothing if not a survivor.

Steph sits back on the bed and caresses my face. I feel guilty that I can't give her my love and I'm angry at her for wanting more than I can give her. She smiles and tries to hide the deep sadness in her eyes. I pull her gently under me and caress her face as I slide myself into her. My mouth can never say the words she wants to hear. My mouth can only give her one thing that she wants. It will have to be enough.


	3. Chapter 3

Because loving someone isn't always enough. Please leave feedback, because I love feedback.

Acceptance- Ch.3

Steph awoke to a dim light in the room. Ranger was up and moving quietly and softly across the room. She knew that he wanted her up and gone. He didn't like to linger in bed in the mornings, snuggling or cuddling. He didn't kick her out in the middle of the night but he didn't want her staying in his bed any longer than she had to, either.

He was bustling around the apartment, getting dressed. Each article of clothing he put on took her further and further from him. With each garment, he covered the few soft emotions he had shown her. The black shirt, pants, and boots transformed him back into what he usually was, cool, emotionless, stoic. In fact, he was already in his usual persona, all business, not talking to her, almost as if she wasn't in the room. The few brief moments of tenderness he had given her during the night were gone, replaced by the cold indifference. He had already shut her out of his life, despite the fact that she was still physically present in his room.

She touched the pillow that still had his scent on it, still held the warmth of his body, the warmth of his emotion. Within moments, the sheets would lose that warmth, as she had lost his warmth. She crawled out of bed and silently began dressing, quickly trying to build up her defenses, her mask of contentment. With the donning of her clothes came the donning of the false pretense of her life. The covering of her body mimicked the concealing of her feelings. She couldn't let her wishes for a tender morning kiss, a shared conversation, a cup of coffee together, show. She had to keep up the charade that it was all ok with her. Now that the sex was over, she had to be ready to be out of his life- until he wanted her back in it again.

She sat, fully dressed, on the bed, watching Ranger go about his daily morning ritual. He didn't close the bathroom door, so she saw him at his sink, precisely covering his toothbrush with paste, methodically brushing his teeth, shaving, and sleeking his hair back into a ponytail. He was probably doing the exact same motions, in the exact same order, that he did every single morning. It was his safe, orderly ritual that kept his life as regimented as it could be. God forbid he shave BEFORE he brushed his teeth. Not even that much spontaneity was allowed to enter his routine. Its probably what had kept him sane in the past, and he couldn't let it go.

It took him only about ten minutes to be completely transformed from sweet, tender lover, to cold emotionless mercenary. She knew that he knew she was still there, sitting on the bed, watching him, yet he didn't acknowledge her. It was as if she were suddenly no longer a part of his life, even though she was sitting less than 10 feet from him.

She felt the tears well up and viciously tamped them down. She knew that he had already mentally dismissed her, put her back into her "compartment" and moved into the next area of his life. She wiped her eyes and gathered all her things together. He just came out of the bathroom, completely dressed and groomed, as she was leaving the bedroom. She turned, wanting to say goodbye but not sure how to. It was always this way the next morning. She'd say goodbye until they got together again for sex in a couple of weeks. She put a small smile on her face, and tried to make it reach her eyes. If Ranger suspected that she was anything less then content with the association, he would break it off, accusing her of "wanting more."

She paused with her hand on the knob. "Well, thanks. It was great. I guess I'll see you later. She put her arms around his waist to give him a desperately needed hug. "um, yeah, me too," he said as he returned her hug, squeezing her briefly to him. She wanted so badly to kiss him, but he was in his "no emotions" mindset and she knew he wouldn't kiss back. And him rejecting her kiss would be more pain than she could bear, so she didn't even risk it. . She grinned at him quickly and barely made it over the threshold before the tears once again gushed down her face.

Ranger's POV

I always get up early. Having Steph in my bed in the morning is a bit annoying. After sex, I don't really want her there anymore, but I am not about to send her away in the middle of the might. I am not a total pig. But the sex is over and it is time for me to move on with the other parts of my life.

I see Steph stroking the bed, sniffing my pillow, curling onto the warmth that still remains in my sheets. She wants a man who will snuggle with her in the mornings, who will whisper in her ear and feed her breakfast. I cannot and will not be that man. I can give her amazing sex, but I cannot make love to her.

She is sitting on the bed, trying to hide the longing looks she shoots towards me in the bathroom. I see her face reflected in the mirror and am startled by the barely contained sadness and longing in her eyes. It makes me feel guilty and then I feel angry at her for making me feel guilty. She wants into more of my life than I can or will give her. She knew from the beginning what her place in my life would be. She agreed that was ok with her. Now she looks at me so longingly and with such sadness that I feel guilty. She has no right to be angry or upset over this. She knew how it would be.

She has finished dressing and is getting ready to leave. She hesitates at the door and looks at me expectanty, as if she wants me to say something. I cannot. I cannot encourage her desire for more than I can give her. I meet her eyes, see the hopefulness. Then the despair in them as she realizes that I will say nothing. I move closer to her and let her hug me. I don't really hug her back- I don't want to give her false hope. I can see the tears brimming in her eyes threatening to spill over, and her race to get through the door before they fall. The tears make me blanch and I close myself off from the guilt I feel. I don't WANT to hurt her. I hate seeing her so sad and hurt. I cannot be responsible for how she feels. She wasn't supposed to feel anything but passion for me. I don't know how long I can deal with the guilt that I feel because I cannot give her what she wants.

Steph's POV

It had been almost a month since Ranger had left Trenton to go to Miami for business. I worked part time for Rangeman, but none of the guys would tell me anything about where he was and when he would be back. Just another area of his life to which I am denied access. I think about him a lot. I can't help it, I love him. Just about everything reminds me of him. It doesn't help that I am working for his company, in his building with his men and occasionally diving his cars.

He was supposed to be home last weekend and we were supposed to get together. I had even gotten a very painful bikini wax in anticipation. Surely, my getting a wax so that I could be smooth as he liked would be yet another sign for him that I loved him. Then, he had gotten detained in Miami at the last minute and we couldn't get together last weekend after all. I had been so looking forward to it, like I looked forward to every shred of attention he gave me, and so I was very disappointed when he cancelled at the last minute. I knew I was pathetic, loving a man who wouldn't love me back. But I couldn't help it. I was so good for him, and , if he let himself, he could be good for me. The thing that hurt most was that he didn't want to let himself have a relationship with me.

I was just finishing up my last slice of pizza when the phone rang. No one ever called me at home. Ranger never did. He always called my cell. I picked it up tentatively, hoping it wasn't my mother.

"Yo, " I just loved hearing his voice at the other end of the line. " Yo, yourself, when do you want to get together." I said, trying to sound casual, trying to sound like I hadn't spent the last month dying to hear from him.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. " I have an issue with that. I will need to use Miami as my home base for awhile, so I will be here for several months at least. And I met this girl down here, so I am going to have to put us on hold."

I thought I was going to burst into tears right then and there. 'Oh," I said, trying to sound like my heart wasn't breaking. After all, I had no claim on him. Just four years of physical intimacy.

" I want to see how it goes with her, plus I have a lot of business here." I kept talking, I couldn't believe he was doing this. " I didn't think you wanted a relationship." I said.

"Well, we'll see how she feels when she only sees me once or twice a month." My heart was breaking, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could stay on the phone without letting my emotions show.

" You continue working for Rangeman. Tank will be in charge there. Be sure to call him if you need anything." I couldn't help but ask. " Can I still call you if I need something?" " Sure babe," he said, as casully as if he were inviting a stranger to coffee. Didn't he know how much I loved him? How much he could love me if he let himself? But he wanted someone else.

"Ok, well, take care down there. See you when you get back." "You, too. Stay safe."

I hung up the phone and burst into gut-wrenching sobs. I had thought he would eventually want a relationship with me, he would eventually love me. But he wanted someone else. I hated how he said, "put us on hold," like he'd pick up where we left off when he came back. As if it were nothing. Maybe it was nothing to him, but how could anyone who wasn't a machine have intimate sex with each other, share feelings and thoughts with each other, work with each other, and not develop some feelings. I laid down on my couch and cried. It seemed like my world, the thing I had spent four years obsessing about, my relationship with Ranger, was over. Everything we ahd shared was gone- just like that.

Ranger's POV- Miami

I put down the phone, relieved that that call was over. I could feel the shock and pain in Steph's voice , even though she tried to hide it. We never had a claim on each other. I told her I didn't do relationships. If I want to have sex with someone down here, I am entitled. I didn't HAVE to tell her, but I did. Surely, that means I'm not a total pig.

I thought about what Steph was doing now. How she had finally let loose with the tears she had tried for so long to hide from me. I had to do this. She was miserable because I can't give her what she wanted. I was miserable because I felt guilty that I couldn't give her what she wanted. I didn't intend to hurt her, but I knew that every time I had sex with her, it hurt her emotionally. She never let on, she kept it casual when we wer together, but I could tell how much it was costing her. And that made me feel guilty and angry. I was angry with her. She wasn't supposed to have feelings for me, and she developed them. She broke the rules of our little arrangement. then, I feel guilty that she got hurt because she broke the rules.

It isn't like I kicked her out of my life totally. She still works for Rangeman, and through the Trenton office, I can still be sure she is protected, given cars, an apartment on the fourth floor, etc. I am sure the guys will still look after her. She will never need to worry about not having enough money to live. She will be an employee and an acquaintance.

I had a right to move on with someone else. Diane has a smoking body and is probably great in bed. I still don't want a relationship, though, and Diane seems ok with that. If I hold her at arms length from the beginning, keep her in the sex compartment, I shouldn't have to worry about her wanting more, like Steph does. At least, I don't think I want a relationship. Diane is hot and cute and we have a lot in common. Who knows? But somehow I doubt it.

I went back to my business but I couldn't stop the nagging guilt that I had hurt Steph in a way no knife or bullet ever could. I tried to rationalize that it was better for both of us. She could go find someone who loved her completely, and I could find someone who didn't love me at all.


	4. Chapter 4

Acceptance-Chapter 4

Please leave reviews. I love reviews.

Stephanie's POV

It was a couple of days before I felt like I could even get out of bed- let alone be in public. I felt like the air had been let out of my balloon and I was just left with the thin skin. I felt hollow, empty. Yes, some people would say that there is no sense mourning this relationship- since there never really was a relationship at all. Just sex. But those people are wrong.

There was more feeling, more tenderness, more chemistry in the one monthly night I had with Ranger than there are for many people who "date." You see, Ranger may not have been able to give me much of himself, but he understood me in a way no one else ever had. I understood him, too- and that is what scared the hell out of him, that I could see past that blank mask into his soul. I saw things about him that he hadn't even admitted to himself, and vice versa. It was Ranger who understood the depth and reason for my on-again- off again status with Joe. It was Ranger who made me realize that nothing would work out with Joe. It was Ranger who gave me the confidence in myself to be a good bounty hunter. Pretty good for a relationships that is technically "just sex."

In those few hours, when Ranger let down his guard and became physically intimate, his emotions came rushing out , like water over a waterfall, before he could stop them. It wasn't a connection he would allow himself at any time other than during sex, when he could brush it off as part of the physical affects of sex. In the years that I had had this odd relationship with Ranger, I learned a truth about him that few people would ever know. It isn't that ranger doesn't have emotions or doesn't feel things- it is actually the opposite. Ranger feels too much. He feels the need to nurture and protect what he cares about. That is why Ranger has become so good at the blankface. If he can deny his emotions physically , it become easier to deny them mentally.

That is exactly why Ranger's life was so orderly. Why his life "didn't lend itself to relationships." Why he didn't even let himself love his daughter, or even a pet. Ranger knows that if he lets himself love anything, his emotions are so deep that it will overwhelm him and he will be vulnerable. He might get hurt. So he denies the possibility of any emotion entering his life by his military mannerisms, his pristine apartment with no photos or mementoes, his rigid black on black dress that squelches any possible spontenaity, He wouldn't even take me on a date, since he might have fun with me and then he'd want to have fun with me and then , well, that could lead to actually having a real relationship with me. And he definitely can't have that. So he "loves' me the only way he can- with cars, protection, a job. Seeing to my physical comforts and ignoring my emotional ones, just as he ignores his own.

I sighed and hiccupped and dragged myself upward in bed, my fuzzy slippered feet hanging over the side. Ranger and I had this conversation before, he knew that I knew his deep, dark, secret. He knew that I saw straight into his soul and I love him for the totally fucked up guy that he is. And it makes him nervous. It makes him have to face a truth that he doesn't want to face, admit what he doesn't want to admit- not even to himself. I knew his deep dark secret - it wasn't that he is Batman, it was that he is a normal man with normal man emotions. The thing was, Ranger knew that he was fucked up. He knew that he needed some serious therapy for whatever the hell had made him smother down his feelings in the first place.

My eyes clouded over with tears again as I realized that Ranger didn't want to change, because he felt safe and comfortable as he was. How ironic that a guy who will boldly jump out of airplanes, take on armed thugs barehanded, and engage in a rough firefight was terrified of something so harmless as having feelings. As much as I tried, I couldn't make him realize that loving someone wasn't a bad thing.

I shuddered to think of him with another woman, doing to her the same wonderful things he did to make my body hum. I couldn't imagine her touching his tattoos and her tongue licking his tiny hoop earring. But the part that I feared the most was that he would let her into his heart, when he worked so hard to keep me out of it. In a way, I kind of felt sorry for her. She didn't know what she was getting into. Not many women would accept the kind of relationship I had with Ranger and be content with it. No one else would see the terrified man that lived inside the brave, tough, muscular shell and love him anyway.

I sighed again and slowly worked my way out of bed. My feet hit the floor, then about ten seconds later , my torso rose off the bed. I felt as though I had been run over by a Mac truck and then dragged along under it for a hundred miles or so. Somehow my emotional pain was also turning into physical aches and pains. I caught a quick glimpse of myself in the mirror above the dresser, and I scared myself. My hair was sticking straight up in every direction, my eyes were huge and puffy, my face red and splotchy. I looked like shit. " At least I don't have to worry about looking sexy for a guy, " I thought to myself.

I stood in front of the mirror trying to work up the energy to get out of the apartment. Technically, I didn't HAVE to leave. I had told Tank that I had the flu and would be out for a couple days, so he wasn't expecting me in the office. But I needed to pay the rent and buy hamster food, so I needed to get my shit together and get out of bed. I tried to tell myself that losing Ranger wasn't the end of the world, but I didn't believe it. He had been the focus of my life for the last five years. when I wasn't with him physically, I was with him at work, or thinking about the next time I'd be with him. Now, I had no "next time." That bitch would be taking all of my next times.

I forced myself to shower and try to tame my hair and dress. I had to get my armor on to go back to Rangeman. The guys were so protective and they were perceptive. They always seemed to know when something was up with me, even when I tried to hide it. Lester and Woody had each called to see "how I was feeling." I wasn't sure if he meant from the flu I told them I had, or if Ranger had told them what happened. I smiled slightly despite my pain. Ranger had probably called Tank and the guys and told them what had happened and ordered them to look out for me. Once again, caring the only way he could let himself. Not that the guys needed to be ordered to look after me.

They certainly knew he was now based in Miami and they had to figure that would affect me. I looked out the window and saw a huge black Escalade with tinted windows parked about a block and a half away, a large figure barely visible inside. That confirmed that the guys knew what had really happened. If they thought I was sick, they'd have come over with soup and movies. They knew that Ranger and I had broken up, so they kept an eye on me while giving me some privacy. See, I told you they were perceptive. Thinking about the Merry Men reminded me of Ranger and how I would probably never see him again, and my eyes clouded up.

I finally decided I would have to be like Ranger and tamp down my feelings, at least until I was alone again. I spent a long time coating my lashes with coat after coat of mascara, hoping to find bravery in that pink and green tube.

I managed to get outside without tearing up again, and tried to pretend that I didn't see the Avalanche when I went outside. If the guys had wanted me to see that they were watching me, they would have knocked on the door. The Avalanche followed me at a distance, turning off just before the entrance to Rangeman. Wouldn't want to be too obvious.

I spent a few minutes in my car in the Rangeman garage, trying to make sure I looked normal- or normal for me , anyway. My eyes were a little puffy, but I was pretty sure the gobs of mascara would draw their attention away from the red puffiness. My nose was a little stuffy, but that would fit with me having the flu. I couldn't stay in the car too long. Ram or Vince would be watching my every move in the garage and informing Tank, maybe even Ranger. I shook my head as if to clear it. I couldn't think about Ranger. He chose to be out of my life- physically anyway. Form now on, Ranger would be a long distance boss, a signature on a paycheck.

I schooled my face not to contort into tears and tried to act normally as I got out of the car. I looked at the floor of the elevator, not really wanting to call attention to my puffiness and splotchiness. I took a deep breath and steadied myself as the elevator doors opened on the fourth floor.

I felt several pairs of eyes tracing my path across the floor to my cubicle. I sat down and turned on my computer, hoping some routine normalcy would calm my inner turmoil. Rodriguez had put about 100 searches in my inbox during the four days that I had been gone. Damn. Where the hell does he get all these names? I started the searches but soon found that almost everything about them, the military backgrounds, the Spanish speakers reminded me of Ranger. My eyes seemed to be permanently clouded up and I had to work to keep from shedding tears. I couldn't though. All the cubicles were monitored and I knew Vince would alert the other guys of any unusual behavior on my part- bursting into tears would NOT be a good plan. None of the guys had actually approached me yet, probably unsure of what to say or do. They were very aware of every movement I made, they were giving me assessing looks.

I grabbed my purse and ran to the one place where I would have privacy- besides the seventh floor, of course- I wasn't about to go there. Not without Ranger there. I made it into the cool privacy of the bathroom just as the tears started to fall.

Ten minutes later, I got out of the stall where I had taken refuge and set about fixing my hair and now ruined makeup. I added mascara, knowing that I would now have serious raccoon eyes. Shit. The guys were going to know that I had been crying. No way to hide it. I guess I could say that I am still congested from the flu. But they, Lester and Bobby especially, wouldn't believe that. They were especially attuned to my moods. Vince, too, and he was the one watching every move I made on the video cameras. They were probably timing how long I had been in here.

No sooner had I left the privacy of the bathroom when Vince approached me. Damn. Apparently the guys figured I had been in there longer than normal and sent Vince to check on me. Maybe I could claim it was my period. THAT would make them leave me alone- they'd run really fast in the other direction. " Hey, Steph,", Vince said, trying to sound casual. " How are you doing? Is, um, everything ok?" His eyes seemed to take in everything about my disheveled appareanace, from the red nose to the splotchy face, to the puffy raccoon eyes. I tried to smile my usual Steph smile that seemed to melt all the guys, but it felt as fake as I am sure it looked. "Sure, Vince," I am just a little weary from the flu.

He nodded and looked intently at me and I knew that he knew that I was lying, but he let it go. Several pairs of eyes followed me back to my cubicle as I tried to start the next phase of my life. The phase without Ranger.


	5. Chapter 5

This isn't the way the story was going when I first started it, but I thought this would be an interesting direction for it to go. Please let me know what you think. Reviews are my friends.

Acceptance Part 5

The rest of that week I went to work , did my job, and came home. I fed Rex, went to bed, got up the next day and started over again. I was trying not to let myself think of anything but work, but I found myself thinking of nothing but Ranger. I couldn't believe he had dumped me for another woman. What did she have that I didn't? THAT was easy. I didn't have a lot of things that most people did. A nice apartment, a great body, big breasts, enough money, a decent car, a guy. I wasn't wild when it came to sex. . I was boring as hell, especially for someone like Ranger, who was always so in control. He knew how to handle everything. Excitement was his middle name. He had a company, an office, a house, lots of nice cars, plenty of money. He had travelled the world, knew at least two languages. I seldom left Trenton and was lucky I knew one language . And he was the same age as me. What was he doing that I wasn't? Maybe If I was more exciting, more competent, smarter, more like HIM, he would want me in his life. I had to make my life more interesting.

The guys seemed to be walking on eggshells around me. I know they kept in contact with Ranger about business and missions, but they never mentioned Ranger's name within my hearing. Several times I have walked onto the 5th floor to see a group of them engaged in a conversation. When they saw me walk in, they would abruptly stop talking. Sometimes I would look up and see them watching me with odd expressions on their faces. Vince and Lester, two of the guys who were most attuned to my emotions, had spent a lot of time in the office lately, reportedly watching monitors, but usually watching me. I couldn't go anywhere without at least one pair of male eyes tracking me. I know Vince spent an inordinate amount of time watching the monitor in my cubicle.

I knew I looked like shit. I hadn't been sleeping well, and I had been crying a LOT. That was not a good combination. And wearing a lot of mascara only emphasized the redness and puffiness of my eyes. I also spent a lot of time in the bathroom, what with the crying and all.

I wasn't behaving like myself either. I didn't talk much. And that was so unlike me that it worried the guys more than anything. Even my legendary appetite for sweets had waned. I really didn't eat much at all. The second day that I was back, the guys had brought a bunch of Tasty Kakes into the breakroom. They were all still there. I just didn't want to eat them. THAT must have really worried the guys, because that was when Bobby came over and suggested that I looked like I was sick. He wanted me to go home and rest. He thought I might want to 'talk to somebody." When I refused, his eyes assessed me and he got a worried look on his face.

It has been three weeks since I got out of bed to come to work for the first time. I hadn't stopped thinking about how I could make myself more interesting, more competent, more like Ranger. I couldn't talk to the guys about it, they wouldn't understand, because they were already competent and interesting like Ranger. I was so dull I couldn't imagine they even wanted to be around me. But I had finally come up with a way to make myself more interesting and competent. I would become fun and competent and daring, like Ranger.

I finished up another search and then looked across the room at the bank of monitors where Vince and Ram were sitting. They must have felt me look at them, because they looked up at me, and then quickly looked down again. I wasn't sure if my plan would work, but if I was going to get interesting, I had to start now. The old Stephanie Plum was dead, the new one was just being born.

"Ram, would you give me some pointers on shooting? I want to get better.," Ram had a shocked expression on his face. I hadn't done more in the last few weeks than answer yes or no questions, let alone approach one of the guys. Especially about shooting. All the guys know I hate shooting. Ram exchanged glances with Vince, then gave me a cautious look. " Um, sure Steph. But I thought you didn't…" " I don't, because I am not good at it. You can help me to be good." Ram was off in two hours, so he promised to meet me down at the shooting range. "And um, Vince, would you help me with some hand to hand stuff. I heard you are really good with that. And I want to be better at taking down skips." Now the guys were confused. They didn't know if they should be happy I was suddenly interested in improving my skills or worried about this complete turnaround in my behavior. Vince glanced at Woody again. " Uh, sure. I can teach you some hand to hand stuff. How about tonight at 7?"

I walked away, feeling better than I had in a few weeks. My plan was in action. I knew the guys were concerned about the complete about face I was making. On the way to the break room, I ran into Bobby. " Hey, bomber." I smiled at him. " Bobby, I know my diet has been horrible. Can you help me get a better diet and exercise regimen? I want to get into better shape." He looked at me for a long moment, probably trying to decide if he needed to call for a straight jacket and padded room for the crazy lady. Then he smiled. " Ok, Sweetie, lets start with a run tomorrow morning. We'll start out nice and easy. Three miles."

Three months later

I had been working out on a daily basis, ate more vegetables, and had only had three TastyCakes. Who knew that I could actually be a good shot? Well, maybe not really good, like Ranger, Ram and Vince, but not sucky like I used to be. I was a pretty decent shot as long as I remembered to aim. Ram said I was still careless, though. I had a bad habit of not checking after I popped out the magazine to be sure there wasn't still a round in the chamber. But otherwise, I had gotten much better. Vince taught me some absolutely lethal moves. I could hold my own except everyone except a trained commando. But if a regular guy attacked me, he was toast.

The guys were planning a huge mission for tomorrow. They had been planning it for a month. I wasn't really supposed to go, but I think I managed to talk Tank into letting me go. The guys knew I wanted to try out my new skills, and they probably figured with so many of them around I would be relatively safe. I hoped they had mentioned to Ranger during one of their chats how much more interesting , exciting and competent I was now. Not that I cared anymore what Ranger thought. Ok, I'm lying. I cared a lot, still, about Ranger. I still kept hoping that whatever he was doing, he was haunted by me like I was by him.

I got up the morning of the mission and felt like a Ranger-ette. Or a Rambo-ette. I had never been on anything this dangerous with the guys. They must really think that I can handle myself if they are letting me go. I'll show Ranger what he's missing with Diane, or Dionne or whatever the fuck her name is. I put on my black Rangeman uniform, complete with hat and utility belt. I was ready to go.

Vince's POV

This was going to be a really dangerous mission. There were seven of us guys going, plus Stephanie. I was not thrilled with the thought of Stephanie going. I understood her better than most of the other guys, and I knew something was up with her , but I didn't know what. Sure, we were all relieved at this sudden turnabout in her behavior in the last few months. After Ranger left, she'd been depressed and uninterested in everything. She wasn't eating, crying a lot, and looked like hell. We had all been really worried about her physical and mental health. Bobby had even mentioned trying to get her to see a therapist.

Then, she had suddenly snapped out of it and decided to improve her skills. Ram said she was a much better shot, if still a bit impulsive. And I would hate to be the guy who tried to mug her. Bobby had her running 10 miles twice a week and doing some toning exercises. Her cardio and muscle tone had really improved. So why did I still feel so uneasy about it? There was something going on I didn't know about. I understood Steph better than most of the guys, but what guy really understood how a woman's mind works. Especially Stephanie's. All I knew was that I had a really bad feeling about Stephanie being on this mission.

Tank, Bobby, Lester, Ram, Woody, Zip, and I piled out of the SUVs and geared up. We were about two blocks from the target buildings, a large warehouse used by gangs to run guns and drugs. We had several subautomatics, a few grenades, and Kevlar vests. We took a minute to review the plan. I watched Steph's face. It was lit up. She was beautiful that way. Ranger was a total ass for leaving her. She was so excited to be on this mission. I was not happy about it. I had argued with Tank about it before we came. I told him not to let her come, that it was going to be way too dangerous for her. Sure, she was better than she used to be. But she was no match for these fuckers. Tank , though, had been so worried about her mental health that he thought this would be the perfect way for her to try out her new skills and build her confidence. We made her promise to stay behind us and to do exactly what we told her to do when we told her to do it. If we said, get out, she'd get out.

Tank finished the briefing and handed out gear. We all donned our heavy Kevlar vests . I grabbed one and handed it to Steph. It was huge. It came down to her knees. She complained that it was going to keep her from walking, but I'd rather have her crawl than not wear her Kevlar. I made her give me her automatic, made sure it was loaded, and gave her an extra clip. "Stay behind us and do exactly what you are told to do, " I reminded her. " yes, sir," she saluted,smiling . I grabbed her arm and looked sternly into her eyes . " I mean it Stephanie. If you don't seriously promise to do exactly what you are told to do, I am going to haul you back to the SUV and cuff you there, and to hell with Tank. " She met my eyes, seeing the worry there. "Ok, Vince. I promise I will do exactly what you tell me to do." I stared at her for another minute and then let her go.

The seven of us crept up to the warehouse, blending into the darkness, completely silent, communicating by hand signals. Tank , Bobby, and Zip went into the front and would clear the top floor. Lester, Ram, Woody, and I ( followed by Steph) would enter through the back and clear the bottom floor. As we broke through the door, I whispered to Steph, "remember. Do exactly what you are told. Stay behind us."

We crept into the pitch black warehouse, guns drawn and pointed straight ahead, seeing only green objects through our night vision goggles. Lester and Ram went left, Woody and I went right, Steph sticking to me like glue. Woody and I crouched and crept forward, swinging our guns in an arc, sidling up to every corner. We knew they were in here, we just weren't sure where. It was so dark and quiet. Lester signaled that he had swept his part of the room and that he and Ram were heading into the next one.

Just ahead of us I saw a dim light, like a dim flashlight. Woody and I stopped and listened, then I motioned that we would creep forward towards the light. I was pretty sure they were with the light, and I didn't want Steph involved until we knew exactly what we were dealing with. I stuffed her behind a concrete pillar and told her to stay there until told otherwise. I made sure her night vision goggles were on, and told her to shoot at anything she saw move.

Woody and I crept forward, and had just slipped around another corner when all hell broke loose. Two guys came out from the doorway on the other side of the room, firing automatic rifles towards us. Woody and I dove for cover and returned fire. The other thugs took this opportunity to grab their weapons and return fire. Shit. We were seriously outnumbered. I wasn't worried about us guys, we'd fought through worse situations. I was worried about Steph.

For a few minutes, the warehouse was filled with gunfire from this floor and upstairs. I could see one of the bad guys running towards the back door, where we had entered, shooting wildly in our direction. Woody and I were darting out from behind cover to return fire. I heard grunts as we picked a few off, but it was still about even odds. I heard a grunt. I think Woody might have gotten one in the leg , I could see him firing his automatic left handed, while he put pressure on his leg with his right.

There was gunfire everywhere and I hoped Steph had the sense to stay behind cover where I had put her. The thug was heading towards the door, towards where Steph was hidden. Woody and I were backing up trying to head him off. I yelled, "Steph, get out, now." I thought I saw her figure running towards the door. Just as Woody was finishing off the last thug, I heard the rapport of automatic gunfire behind us, from the doorway. All I could think was, Shit! Stephanie!

I heard the guys upstairs give the all clear as I ran towards the back door of the warehouse, and I almost tripped on a dead thug. Directly across from him, I saw a slighter figure motionless on the ground. "Stephanie! " She was flat on the ground, her weapon still in her limp hand. "Stephanie!" I yelled, as I ran up to her.

Shit. She hadn't put on the damn Kevlar. Oh, Jesus. There was a huge blood stain on the center of her chest. Fuck. " Guys, get an ambulance, NOW!," I yelled. I threw myself down next to her completely motionless body and instinctually put one hand on her chest pressing down to try to staunch the flow of blood. I couldn't tell if she was even alive. My fingers sought out the carotid in her neck, but I couldn't tell if she had a pulse because all I could feel was the force of my heartbeat, the adrenaline racing through my body.

" Bobby, Steph's shot! Get an ambulance NOW!"


	6. Chapter 6

Acceptance- Part 6

Please leave reviews, as you know I thrive on reviews. They make me happy.

Vince's POV

Bobby ran over, his eyes huge when he saw the blood on Steph's chest. "Dammit." He checked for a pulse, then made eye contact with me. " She has a pulse but its pretty damn weak. Keep as much pressure on that as you can.". I pressed hard on the wound on her chest but I wasn't sure I was stopping the bleeding. With my free hand, I stroked her face. Her face was so pale and her lips bloodless. Her body was completely motionless, her shallow breathing barely moving her chest. Bobby had taken the gun from her limp hand. Fuck. Why wasn't she wearing the Kevlar.?" I gave her the Kevlar, why the fuck didn't she wear it?

There wasn't much we could do until the bus came. What the fuck was taking them so long? I finally heard the siren, seemingly far away. I just pressed harder on her chest. Fuck. She could be bleeding to death right under my hands. And who knew where the bullet had hit her.

I heard the ambulance stop outside and the medics rolled the gurney in . I had to let go of her hand so they could work, but I wasn't leaving her. I could tell Bobby wasn't either. Bobby and I piled into the ambulance with the two medics. They called for another bus for Woody.

************************************************************************************

Bobby and I sat in the OR waiting room, feeling numb. As soon as the ambulance had pulled in, they had whisked Steph away, a team of people rushing her into the OR. A few minutes later, Tank, and Lester came into the OR waiting room. Woody hobbled in , helped by Zip and Ram, a bandage on his leg, refusing to go to the ER for treatment because he wanted to be with Steph. "How is she?," Zip asked, almost afraid of the answer.

The look on Bobby's face told them all they needed to know. She was alive when they brought her in- barely. It all depends on whether they can patch her up and replace her fluid volume.

Tank got up. "I should call her family and then Ranger and let him know. Ram and I both jumped up. " No." I was surprised by how vehement my voice sounded. "No. He doesn't deserve to know. He doesn't have the right to be here. Whatever happens, she has people that love her here. He doesn't have that right." Zip seemed to agree. "He treated her like shit and then left her. No way he deserves to know anything. She doesn't need him. She has us." All of the guys stood up and faced Tank, all of us feeling that Ranger didn't deserve to know anything about Steph . Tank said, "What if she dies?" Ram blanched, and I couldn't even think of the words " Steph" and "die" in the same sentence. Woody staggerd to his feet to look Tank in the eyes. He said, "If she,um, doesn't make it, then we'll deal with it. We'll be the ones here with her. Not him. Not the way he hurt her." Woody stared Tank right in the eye. For a moment the air in the room crackled. I was pretty sure that there might be a physical fight with all the pent up anger inside us. All of us against Tank. I wonder if he stood a chance.

I was pissed at him anyway, for insisiting Steph should come along when I told her she shouldn't. I had known something would happen. He didn't believe me. Fuck. I was so pissed at him right now, I was close to jumping him myself. Finally, Tank looked away from Woody's eyes and said in his deep, level voice, " We are his employees and she is his employee. He is paying for her insurance. He'll be pissed later if we don't tell him. He needs to know." He left to call Ranger on the cell phone.

Seven of us, big men dressed in black sat in tense silence in the waiting room, worrying about a small girl that we all loved. Amazingly, no one said a word to us about our guns. It must have been the look on our faces. We all sat there in the waiting room, in silence, lost in our own thoughts of Steph. We couldn't lose her.

Damnit, why didn't I insist to tank that she not go? Why the hell didn't she put on the Kevlar? Why the hell hadn't I put the damn Kevlar on her myself? She had gotten so strong. Hell, she'd killed one of the bad guys herself. Steph had never been in combat, which is why she hadn't worn the vest. If you are in combat, you realize how one little mistake could get you killed. Steph had never been through that experience. I should have put the damn Kevlar on her myself.

Ram had his head in his hands. Woody's leg was seeping blood again, he was looking like shit from the pain of the wound and the blood loss , but he refused to leave while "Steph needs us." Bobby kept looking at the clock, then the OR doors. Zip kept pacing back and forth, standing in front of the OR window, looking almost like he had tears in his eyes.

Lester's POV

Shit. It had been hours. No news was good news, I guess. I just didn't know how long it would take. I did know that I loved steph, we all did. She made us smile. We were all so proud of the turnaround she had made since Ranger had dumped her and took off for Miami. And she had killed one of the bad guys. I was proud of her, well, except for her not wearing the Kevlar. Any one of us would have switched places with her. I would gladly have it be me lying in there, fighting for my life, instead of her. Zip , Bobby and I had given blood since we were the same blood type as Steph. She could have as much of mine as she needed. Woody is her blood type too, and he wanted to give too, but we wouldn't let him. He'd lost a ton of blood already from his leg wound.

Ella had sent sandwiches from Rangeman. None of us had touched them. Woody was almost passed out from his wound, but he refused to leave Steph. I was impatient for the first time in my lie. I watched the clock. Zip had asked the floor nurse for the umpteenth time if there was any news.

Bobby looked over and saw Woody almost unconscious from blood loss from his leg wound. Woody had refused to go to the ER to get it patched up. He wanted to be here with Stephanie. Bobby removed the bandage Lester had haphazardly put on the wound to keep on the pressure. It looked like the bullet had gone straight through but left a pretty damn big hole and lots of bleeding. "Comeon, lets go get this taken care of." He tried to get Woody upright, but he couldn't lift Woody's massive body on his own, and Woody sure wasn't going to help. " It'll be fine. I've had worse. I am not leaving until we know about Steph." I shook my head at his stubbornness. Bobby stopped trying to get him up, " Fine, you stubborn asshole. I'll do it here." Bobby grabbed some supplies from a cart and started to tend to the stitching of Woody's wound. " I don't have any anesthetic, so this is going to hurt like hell." Woody nodded, " I don't care, go ahead." Woody didn't even flinch as Bobby stitched him up. Probably, he felt as numb as I did.

Dr. James's POV

I walked out of the OR, exhausted, covered in blood, and found myself confronted with seven large, lethal looking men, all muscular, heavily armed, and dressed in black. They were like an army, their torsos covered in Kevlar vests and wearing web utility belts. Each one was wearing at least three weapons that I could see. They looked military and dangerous. I would definitely not want to piss any of these guys off. They all stood up almost instantly the moment they saw me. One of them staggered up, and I saw a wound on his leg, probably from the same shootout that had wounded the girl. These men gave me lethal looks but I could see the worry in their eyes. I wondered how these seven, powerful, dangerous, mercenary type men were associated with a small girl. I gulped and went up to the large wall of black that now surrounded me.

" I'm Dr. James. Are you here for Stephanie Plum? " They were all lined up in front of me, a massive black, wall. The largest one, a huge black man, said, " We're her family." Considering he was black, and many of these men were Hispanic, and the girl was white, I doubted they were actually family. They all gave me looks daring me to challenge that, and since I enjoy life I didn't challenge their claim.

" Well, Ms. Plum was in shock from blood loss and suffered a gun shot to the chest. The bullet was within millimeters of her heart. We managed to remove it and transfuse the blood she lost. She came very close to dying, but she is a fighter. She's alive, and we'll move her to ICU as soon as she is done in recovery. " The men's bodies lost some of their rigid stiffness and they looked relived and a couple actually looked as though they might faint.

"She isn't out of the woods yet. She survived the surgery, but she is in very critical condition, as we have to get her to stabilize. She'll be in recovery , then the ICU. There is a chance that there could be life threatening complications, but for now she is alive."

They seemed relieved , and my hands were crushed by several of their massive hands as they gave me joyful handshakes.

Bobby's POV

When Dr. James told us that Steph had made it, I felt myself practically go weak in the knees. The guys were elated, and Lester got on the phone to Rangeman to let the other guys know the news. I had finally convinced Woody that now that we knew about Steph, he could go to the ER to get an IV, so Zip and Ram had helped him over there. Vince, Lester, Tank, and I were still in the waiting room. As soon as Steph got out of recovery and into ICU we wanted to see her. We set up duty schedules over the phone with Rangeman so that at least one of us would be here with Steph at all times. I knew it would probably be a long recovery for her, and she wasn't going to be alone.

Tank went to the nurse's office and finished filling out all the insurance paperwork. We had Hal go from Rangeman to Steph's apartment to pick up Rex. We didn't want Steph to have anything to worry about except recovering. The waiting room was filled with a quiet buzz as we went about making plans. We all were concentrating on our aspect of the task when there was a sudden feeling of uneasiness in the air. All the buzzing stopped and every one of us looked up.

Ranger had just arrived in the waiting room. I saw the look on the guy's faces and before I could stop them, Vince and Lester swaggered up to him, violence in their eyes. Vince was the first one to speak, " What the fuck are you doing here? You have a hell of a lot of nerve showing up here after how you treated her."

Oh, shit. This was not going to be pretty.


	7. Chapter 7

Acceptance- Chapter 7

Please leave reviews. I live for reviews.

Bobby's POV

" What the fuck are you doing here? You have a hell of a lot of nerve showing up here, after the way you treated her. Vince was practically in Ranger's face- brave guy that he is- and was speaking in a calm, low voice. I can't blame him- Ranger is my friend but I want to smash him in the face for how he treated Steph.

Ranger looked past Vince. " How is she?', he asked, starting towards her room. Vince and Lester stepped between him and the ICU door, blocking him from going in. " What the fuck are you doing here?", Vince repeated in a low, lethal voice, his hand flexing and unflexing near the butt of his Glock. Ranger is a fucking badass, but Vince and Lester were pissed enough that they could probably take him. And he was NOT getting into that room without going through them first. I , however, didn't want to have to patch up anyone after they pounded the shit out of each other. For one thing, I wasn't sure who would win, and they would probably fuck each other up pretty badly.

I ran over to stand between Ranger and them , trying to prevent the violence that was about to occur.

" Look, Ranger, it isn't a good idea for you to be here right now." I was calmly trying to force Ranger back from the doorway, whil e preventing Vince and Lester from jumping him. " How is she?', Ranger asked again.

Ranger stared at Vince and I for a moment, then went and sat on the waiting room couch. Vince and Lester stood, leaning against the wall. I sat on the couch between them. Ranger put his head in his hands. " Look, I know that you are all pissed with me for leaving Steph." Lester looked like he was going to strangle Ranger. " Pissed? Pissed doesn't cover it, asshole. Do you have any idea what she was like when you left? What the hell you did to her?" I blanched. I knew Lester and Vince were pissed with Ranger- hell, we all were, but they were still his employees. He was still the boss.

Ranger's POV

I leveled Lester and Vince with a lethal glare. What the fuck? My own men were ready to attack me? It wasn't my fault Steph was shot. Why the fuck wasn't anyone answering my question about how she was? Bobby stared at me for a moment, and said, " She was in very bad shape from being shot on a mission. She took one in the chest and she almost died. She will be in ICU soon, and barring any complications, she will eventually recover." I felt myself let out a breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding when he finally said she'd recover. I didn't love her, I couldn't love her, but I still didn't want to lose her.

Vince spoke, his arms crossed over his chest, his feet planted apart showing his anger. " So, did you finally get your head out of your ass and figure out what you were losing and come back to beg Steph to take you back?" My head popped up and I leveled Vince with one of my lethal looks. But I wasn't sure I could hide my feelings behind my badass attitude anymore. I felt a way I couldn't remember ever feeling before. It was a mixture of anger at my men for being so defiant , guilt because they were right, and sadness because I couldn't change who and what I am. I sat there for a moment, feeling empty and uncertain, then I stood up to look my men in the eyes.

" Look, I know I hurt Steph when I left her. But it was her fault she got hurt- she wasn't supposed to have feelings for me. That was the deal. " Bobby and Lester didn't like that answer. They were staring at me as if they wanted to kill me, but I soldiered on. " You know how I am. I can't let myself love someone. I won't let myself love someone. And I was starting to love Stephanie. I guess, I always will, in my own way. But I can't let her into my life.I can't give her what she needs, what she deserves. "

Bobby came up to me and said, " You are seriously fucked up, dude. You have a cute, funny, smart, hot woman who loves you and has taken shit from you for years, and you are going to give her up because you are fucked up and too cowardly to let yourself love her? " fuck. That pansy Bobby was starting to sound like Dr. Phil.

I approached Vince and Lester, who tensed, as if they wanted to hit me. "You know that I can't let myself have feelings for Steph. I will take care of her in the only way that I can. She will always have a place at Rangeman, and the protection that Rangeman can give her. She'll have the benefit of cars, a place to stay, and my men protecting her." Vince leveled me with a lethal look. " Ranger, we don't need you to order us to protect her. We would weather you told us to or not. For that matter, we'd protect her even if you told us not to. She deserves that." I was saddened that my men were so angry with me, but relieved to know that they cared enough for her to always be there for her.

" I left because Steph loves me and I can't love her. She needs to get over me and be with a guy who deserves her- who can give her the love she needs. I can't be that man for her. I can't love her in that way." I thought I was numb to any feelings, but I actually felt my vision clouding a bit as I said this.

" I just came here to be sure that Steph would be ok. I don't want her hurt and all I can do is hurt her. She can work at Rangeman and live there indefinitely if she likes. I know you guys will take care of her."

I walked toward the ICU door quickly, and Vince and Bobby didn't move to cut me off. " I am going to see for myself that she is alive and say goodbye."

I went into the ICU and saw Steph lying there. I went to her and took her face in my hands and kissed her on the forehead. And then I left.

Vince's POV

The room is so quiet except for the mechanical noises- the hissing of the respirator and the beeping of the heart monitor helping to keep Steph alive. She had been in ICU for almost eight hours, and one of us guys had been at her side the whole time. I stroked the small, limp hand enclosed in my larger one. I had never seen Steph, or anyone look so vulnerable. Her small body was dwarfed by the array of machines around her. Her chest was hugely bandaged from the surgery. She had EKG leads on her chest that transmitted every beat of her heart to a green bouncing line on the heart monitor. She had a tube in her mouth, making it easier for her to breathe. She had two IVs in her arms, and her left bicep was encased in a BP cuff.

She had made it through surgery, but the bullet had been perilously close to her heart and she had nearly bled to death. I stroked her hand and watched the respirator cause her chest to rise. She was so still it was scary. I hated seeing her like this. The doctors said that she should recover, although there was the potential for life threatening complications. I watched her pale face, her eyes closed. Then, my eyes watched the movement of the green line that registered the beat of her heart.

I sat silently next to her bed, a massive figure in black against the stark whiteness of the hospital room. I saw the muscles in my arms as I caress her hand. "Steph, its Vince. Its ok. You are going to be ok ", I whisper. I know how strong I am and how weak Steph is. I hold her hand, wishing I could give her some of my physical strength.

I caress her hand and feel my eyes water a bit as I think about Ranger and how much he has hurt her. I know she will be crushed when Ranger doesn't come back. I just don't want her to think its because of her. He is my friend but he is seriously fucked up and I don't want his being fucked up to affect her anymore. She deserves better.

I stroke her hand and whisper to , "Its ok, Steph. We'll be there for you. We'll help you recover. And then help you move on."


	8. Chapter 8

Acceptance- Part 8

This part is different from the others, it doesn't really advance the plot, but this perspective just popped into my head. I hope you like it. Please leave reviews.

Nurse 's POV

I work the double shift at Trenton General Hospital a lot. The last few days in the OR and the ICU have been quite interesting. We have a girl in her mid thirties suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. I have seen several gunshot patients in my day, but this one is unique.

The girl's name is Steph, and her situation is…well, I don't know what it is. She came into the OR three days ago close to death, bleeding out from a gunshot wound to the chest. She was followed by seven huge, muscular men in black clothes, each armed with several weapons, looking like an army . Their black shirts all said Rangeman, and they wore Kevlar vests, some covered in blood, and belts filled with a variety of weapons. Apparently they had all been involved in a shootout of some sort, with Steph on the losing end. I wondered how , with guys like this around her, she had even gotten involved in a shootout.

The men were extremely handsome, and unbelievably lethal looking. These men had obviously been in the military, I would bet Special Forces judging by some of the tattoos on their arms. These were men who looked like they had killed and would kill again, especially for the girl. They seemed so protective, I wondered that they would let her anywhere near a gun. They had set up a vigil in the OR waiting room, a massive black shadow against the bright sterility of the waiting room.

They argued a lot about someone named Ranger. When this Ranger guy actually showed up, I was pretty sure that two of them were going to pulverize him. One of them, a huge dark haired guy named Vince with tattoos on his massive biceps, looked like he might draw his gun until a slightly shorter guy broke it up. I have never seen so many hot guys fight over one girl like that. That Ranger was smart to leave before he got the shit kicked out of him.

After Stephanie came out of the OR, Dr. James met with the men and they all claimed to be her family. Well, one was huge and black, a few of the others were Hispanic, so it didn't seem they could be related to the girl. But they insisted they were, and refused to leave.

Stephanie has been in the ICU for three days now, and the men haven't left. At least two of them are here at all times. One usually stands guard outside in the ICU waiting room, while another sits inside with her. We called the hospital security guards, but our guards were wimpy looking compared to these guys, and unwilling to take them on. One of our guys told one of these Rangeman guys that if he didn't stop challenging anyone who walked through the door, he would be removed from the premesis. The young muscular guy, Zip, I believe he's called, told the security guy that he was welcome to try removing him, then stood there like a solid black, impenetrable wall.

I had never seen anything like it. Who were these men? Her paperwork says she is single, but these men talk about her as if they care about her. Brothers? Maybe. But not the vibe I was getting. They all call her affectionate names like sweetie, honey, and baby. It is obvious they are all half in love with her. I thought maybe they were the girl's boyfriends, then I ruled out that idea. These were alpha males, certainly territorial. No way would they share a woman. They wouldn't get along so well together if they were all banging the girl.

They were definitely lethal, and used to being in control of every situation. I could tell that they were a bit worried since they couldn't control what happened to Stephanie, and that made them even more protective. Strong men get that way when confronted with a situation they have no control over. It was unbelievable to see so many lethal, strong, dangerous men act so gentle and tender around her. It is obvious that she is very special to them.

One of them, I think his name is Bobby, must be a medic. When he sits with her, he never lets go of her hand. He is constantly checking her monitors and asking about her meds. He watches me intently when I take her vitals and I even caught him taking her blood pressure himself once, as if he couldn't trust us to take proper care of her.

I went in yesterday and the young guy, maybe mid-twenties, was in there. He was younger than Stephanie, but still very protective of her. I think he said he was Zip. He was standing by the foot of the bed, gently rubbing her relatively small, blanketed feet in his large hands. It was such a dichotomy to see such a strong man, used to hurting and violence touching her so carefully.

Shortly after she came into the ICU, a massive man on crutches hobbled in and sat down next to her bed , propping his leg on another chair. This one, called Woody, had been injured with her. He had refused treatment, even though he was bleeding profusely, until he knew how Steph was. Now he sat, oblivious to his own pain, his massive dark hand gently caressing her smaller, limp one.

Last night I came in around two. She was having a restless night, moaning and thrashing softly. Lester, a large, muscular Hispanic guys in the requisite black, stood next to her bed, holding her hand gently against his chest, stroking her forehead, and whispering softly to her in Spanish. I have no idea what he said, and no idea if she knew. But his words seemed to instantly calm her, and she settled down.

She was injured so badly, and she had a long recovery ahead of her. She was lucky to have these strong, devoted, incredibly hot guys guys to take care such gentle care of her. Lucky girl.

Vince's POV

Steph had been in the ICU for almost four days now, with one of us constantly at her side. Fuck the five minute visitors rule, we had spent every minute of the last few days in that quiet, starkly white room, doing nothing but listening to the sounds of the machines, holding her hand, and occasionally talking to her. Not too much talking though, since we are Rangemen, and that is not what we do. I had a lot of time to think about the showdown with Ranger. Fuck Ranger. She doesn't need him.

She had been agitated for the last few hours, her eyes fluttering and the beeping of the monitors speeding up as she fought for consciousness. I stroked her hand, which had been periodically twitching in mine. Her eyelids fluttered and then slowly opened, as if they were suddenly very heavy. The first thing I saw in them was panic as she awoke remembering the horror of the shootout. "Steph, honey, its Vince, you're safe. " Her eyes finally focused on me and I saw all the fear go out of them, replaced with relief and then peacefulness. I met her eyes and grinned at her. " Its ok, you were shot, but you'll be ok." It felt good knowing that she knew she was safe as soon as she saw me. It was so good to see her beautiful blue eyes open, especially since we had been afraid we'd never see them again. I was so relieved , I decided I would wait until later to kill her for not wearing the Kevlar.

Nurse's POV

I went into the room to see that Stephanie had finally regained consciousness, her blue eyes focused on Vince. He flashed me a drop dead gorgeous smile. "She's awake," he told me. I sighed. Damn, I though again. This was a lucky girl.


	9. Chapter 9

Acceptance- Part 9

Please leave reviews. I live for reviews.

Steph's POV

I had been in the hospital for over a week, and been conscious for two days. That didn't mean I felt any better, though. I felt like shit. It hurt even to breathe . I slept a lot. An awful lot. None of the guys had really said much about me getting shot. None of them had said much of anything. But they were here all the time. I felt so protected. Woody and Vince are sitting in the room now, doing that quiet thing they like to do, just holding my hand.

I felt groggy and was just dropping off to sleep when the nurse came in. She looked at the guys and couldn't help but grin. " You are so lucky to have men like this surrounding you. They never left your side. Even this one, when he was bleeding. " Woody sort of grinned at me. I was so tired that I wasn't really paying attention to her. She was babbling on as she took my vitals. "And you should have seen when that guy Ranger showed up…"

Woody's POV

Shit. I couldn't believe the nurse had mentioned Ranger. We had deliberately decided not to mention him around Steph. She didn't need to know that he was here and rejected her. That he had made a choice to have a relationship- and it wasn't with her. She wasn't very strong yet, and we were afraid that knowing about Ranger's rejection might cause some sort of setback. We would tell her when she was stronger- or maybe not. I gave the nurse a look and she stopped talking immediately. Steph's eyes were closed and I hoped that she was asleep and hadn't heard the part about Ranger.

He had made his choice. He'd rather be down in Miami with that bitch Diana than here giving Steph what she needed. I was so pissed off at him. We all were. Vince looked at me and sighed. With our luck Steph heard the comment before she dropped off to sleep and would want to know all about it. And that would cause her more heartache and pain. I squeezed her hand and then left her with Vince as I went to check in with Rangeman.

Vince's POV

Lester, Bobby and I were carefully bundling Steph out of the hospital wheelchair and into the front seat of the Escalade, which we had reclined for her. She could stand up and walk a little, but I had to lift her onto the high seat of the SUV. It would be hard to buckle her in without hurting her , but after what she had been through, we weren't taking chances with her getting hurt again. Bobby had rigged up this padded sling thing that we could put around the seatbelt so it wouldn't press to tightly against her chest. In the backseat, we put all her stuffed animals, and the bag of meds she'd need to take.

They had been reluctant to release Steph yet, , but we convinced them that she would be in a controlled environment where she would never be alone, that Bobby was a trained medic and would examine her daily and be alert for any signs of infection or complications. And that Rangeman had its own mini-clinic for emergencies. Bobby had gotten all the information from the doctors about the type of care she would need, signs of infections, appropriate meds and their side effects, and signs of any possible long term complications. It was a little scary to realize how weak she still was and how much care she'd still need. And how much could still go wrong if we fucked up. The Nurse followed us all the way down to the car, saying what a lucky girl Steph was to have us. She was practically drooling over Lester.

Almost as soon as Steph's head touched the seat, she was asleep. For most people, that might be alarming, but for Steph, well, not so much. On a normal day , Steph could and did sleep anywhere. Add to that her physical condition, and, there you go.

I drove carefully so that I wouldn't jar Steph too much. Bobby sat in the back, watching her sleep on the short trip to Rangeman. Deciding where she would stay was a problem. We certainly weren't letting her go back to her apartment, not in the condition she was in. She'd need care and that place was not very comfortable. Not to mention that anyone and their brother could break in. But the seventh floor of Rangeman was out- I was sure that staying there would be upsetting for her. We decided on a large one bedroom on the fourth floor. It was situated between Ram's and Lester's apartments, across from Bobby's, two doors down from mine. She could have the relative privacy she would want, but we would be right there if she needed us. And she probably would need us.

Bobby's POV

I carried Stephanie out of the Escalade and to the elevators. She was sound asleep, her head against my chest. I checked the the heavy bandages over her chest to be sure they hadn't been damaged. . I took her to the fifth floor control room first. I knew all the guys would want to see her. She was still sound asleep when the elevator opened and eight guys stood there, waiting. There was a banner that said, " Welcome Home, Stephanie!" and Ella had baked a pineapple upside-down cake for her.

She awakened as I was transferring her from my arms to a chair. It took a minute for her sleep-clouded eyes to focus, then she flashed a huge grin. Damn. I hadn't seen that grin in a long time. "Oh, guys, you are so sweet!" she whispered , eyeing the banner and the cake. There was also a massive flower arrangement waiting for her, compliments of Binkie and Tank. Sweet? I thought. Sure. Ram is so fucking sweet he beat the shit out of an FTA who tried to flee. Hal is so sweet that he shot a guy in the leg for kicking him. Hell, not a damn one of us was sweet. We were all bad-asses.

It was humorous to see each one of those bad asses hug Steph, so carefully so they didn't hurt her. It was humorous to see them all watch her every expression, every movement. Hal gave her a huge hug, his massive body completely surrounding hers. Woody limped over, picked Steph up , sat down in her chair with her in his lap, stretching his wounded leg out in front of him. The guys were all being so solicitious of her. Lester brought her water, and Zip covered her with a throw, saying that it is "chilly in here." I could tell all the guys were a little uncomfortable seeing her looking so fragile and delicate. Hell, she looked a hell of a lot better than she had in the hospital. She was still pretty weak, though, and was going to need a lot of care to recover. She smiled again at all the guys and thanked them. She kept looking around, though, like she was looking for something. She seemed happy , but there was a question in her eyes, and I knew pretty damn well what the question was about.

Vince's POV

Steph had started to doze off again after while, and I carried her to the apartment we had for her on the fourth floor. As I was unlocking it, she stirred in my arms. She put her head on my shoulder and said, " That was nice. You guys are all so sweet. But where was Ranger?"

Fuck!! I knew that question was coming. What the fuck do I tell her? I schooled my face to be devoid of expression, "blankface" Steph calls it. " He's in Miami, baby, remember? He's working there." I carried her quickly to the bedroom, hoping if I got her in bed fast enough she would fall asleep before asking any more questions. But I could almost see the goddamn gears turning in her brain. " Well, the nurse said that he was here when I was in the hospital." Shit. She HAD heard that. What the fuck do I say now? I wasn't going to lie to her. But the truth was going to kill her.

Shit. I am so not good with this fucking talking stuff. That's why I was hoping she wouldn't know and we wouldn't have to tell her. I chose my words carefully. I did not want to make this worse than it was for her. She was so fragile already and I was afraid getting her upset might cause a serious setback.

I sat her down gently on the bed, and peeled back the covers. I stripped her out of her robe and left her in the PJs she'd worn form the hospital. I tucked her under the covers , then sat down next to her on the bed. " If he was here, where is he now?" I sighed. Shit.

My fingers stroked her small hand and slim wrist. " He was here, baby. Tank called him when you were hurt. " Her eyes looked fully alert now and hopeful. Goddamn I wanted to pound the shit out of Ranger right now. "Did he come back to see me? Where is he?, " she asked again.

Fuck. Why me? Bobby is so much better at this being tactful shit. I knew no matter what I said it was going to hurt her. " He came to see if you were going to make it. When he found out you were, then he went back to Miami." I saw the confusion on her face, then the confusion was replaced with hurt. " He didn't want to see me? Is he coming back to talk to me?" I sighed. Ok, it was probably better to get it all out there since we'd already come this far. I stroked her hand and wrist with my fingers. " Steph… honey…Ranger said that he wanted you to be ok, but that he wasn't coming back to you. He wants to be with someone else, and he wants you to be, too." I watched the tears well up in her eyes and the anguished expression overtake her face. She was too weak to even hide it. Then her face just crumbled and the tears let loose. Shit.

I watched her for a minute holding her hand. She was sobbing so hard that her whole body shook. THAT couldn't be good for her wound. She didn't need to waste energy on crying that she needed to heal. I watched her sob so hard and silently, not sure how to get her to stop.

After a few minutes, I crawled into the bed, still in my utility belt and boots. I got on the radio and told Bobby and the others what happened. Then, I gathered her close to me, wrapped the blankets around her and settled her carefully on my lap with her head against my chest, then just held her as her sobs quickly turned to exhaustion and she fell asleep in my arms.


	10. Chapter 10

Acceptance- Part 10

Please leave reviews. I thrive on reviews.

Ram's POV

It has been almost a month since Steph was shot. She has been home almost three weeks. She seems to be healing, albeit slowly. It had been a week before Bobby and her nurse judged her well enough to get out of bed. Now, she moves around the building slowly. She is still bandaged and hasn't regained all her stamina yet. Bobby has been taking her to the doctor every week, then comes back and gives us all a complete report. Yes, I know, there is something known as doctor-patient confidentiality, but not when it comes to Rangeman. We find out whatever we want to.

My leg is mostly healed, but I haven't been cleared for field duty yet, so I am mostly in the office. So is Vince. Tank has assigned him office duty a lot since he seems to be the one best able to handle Steph. We have all been mostly making small talk around her, not really talking about anything that might upset her, not mentioning how she got shot, and definitely not mentioning Ranger.

Even though no one is mentioning Ranger, I am sure she is thinking about him constantly. She sits a lot, staring into space. Sometimes, I catch her with tears in her eyes before she wipes them away. She's almost as bad as she was when he left the first time. I'd have thought after all these months, she would have gotten over him. But I guess she was biding her time, hoping he'd come back. I overheard her talking on the phone with Lula about how it hurt worse that Ranger had let another woman into his life when he hadn't let her in. Ranger is my friend, but I wanted to beat the shit out of him sometimes.

Vince's POV

Steph and I had been sitting in the car for the last two hours, on the most boring and definitely non-dangerous surveillance job ever. Steph hadn't really wanted to come, but Bobby thought that, after weeks in the Rangeman building, she should get outside. And, since there was absolutely no chance of anything even remotely dangerous happening on this surveillance. It was the perfect way to get her out for a few hours.

Steph had been staring out the window towards the building. I looked over at her carefully. I didn't want her to know how much all of us had been watching her. How worried we were for her. She seemed to be getting around ok now, but I knew she still had some bandages and she seemed to tire very easily. Not that we let her do much that would tire her.

She had dozed earlier, but now she was awake. Her face looked pale and a little puffy. She looked very delicate. I kept making a show of looking through the binoculars while she sat next to me, completely quiet. The silence stretched to about 30 minutes. Not long for me, but an eternity for her not to talk. She seemed to just be sitting there, staring, like she was trying to figure out a puzzle.

"Vince?" she said, her soft voice seemingly loud in the quietness of the SUV. " " Hey sweetie," I replied. " How're you doing?" She didn't really answer, but looked at her feet. " Another couple of minutes of silence, a record for her. She looked up quickly at me again. " Vince, the day I got shot, did you see Ranger?"

Shit. I damn well did not want to talk about this. None of us had even mentioned the night she got shot, let alone Ranger. We didn't want to upset her. And, to be honest, reliving that night upset us too. Just remembering her that helpless and close to death made me cringe. She looked at me expectantly, and I could tell she wasn't going to let it go.

Thinking back to that night made me remember the fear and the anger. "Yes, I saw him, " I said cautiously, not sure where she was going with this. "Well, did you tell him about me?" I looked at her incredulously. What the fuck? Of course I told him about her. Why the fuck did she think he was there? I looked at her cautiously, not sure where she was going with this. " Of course I told him about you. We were all worried to death. That's why he came? " She seemed to consider that for a minute. " Well, did you tell him about how much better I was? About how I was stronger and more interesting and a better bounty hunter? I did it so he'd think I was more interesting. Did you tell him that before he decided to leave?"

What the fuck? I couldn't believe what she was saying. She did all of that working out and learning to shoot and self defense so she would be more interesting for Ranger? Of course I didn't tell him. She was so much better off without him. " I told him that you were close to dying." Then, I remembered my anger. " I told him that I had given you a Kevlar vest and you didn't wear it and it almost got you killed." I said that last part so loud that I was almost yelling at her, my voice harsh with my anger and worry. I saw her get a stunned look on her face and whip her face away and the tears well up in her eyes. Shit. I didn't mean to make her cry. But it made me so damn angry when I thought about how close she came to getting killed because she didn't wear a damn vest. What the hell? Did she think she'd be more interesting to Ranger DEAD?

Goddamn. All this time spent trying to help Steph recover and I just made her upset. I saw her swipe at her eyes, trying to hide the fact she was crying. Shit, I am a total ass. I didn't mean to make her cry, I just got so fucking angry about Steph not wearing the damn vest. The thought that she put herself in a dangerous state to impress Ranger? I watched her move as far to the right as she could, practically pressed up against the door, as far away as she could get from me. The car was silent except for the slight sniffle that escaped her.

I felt like the world's biggest ass. It wasn't helping Steph to sit here anymore. She was upset and I should get her home. I glanced over at her, but she was still sitting jammed up against the door, her head turned away from me. I drove the short distance back to Rangeman in silence. She got out of the car and without saying a word, took the elevator to the fourth floor.

Bobby's POV

I had just finished my shift and I was heading back to my apartment. I passed Stephanie's apartment and couldn't help but hear Lula's boisterous voice. " What the hell do you mean, girl? She aint got nothing on you." I stopped outside the door to eavesdrop. I heard Steph say, " I bet she has bigger breasts, or a better ass." Shit. She had to be kidding. Steph had a first-rate ass. " Why did he let her into his life and not me? " I heard the disgust in her voice when she said, " maybe she is really good at sex and can do all that stuff in the porn movies."

Lula's voice," Girl, no one can do that stuff in porn. Them girls is double jointed." I thought about my favorite porn and had to admit that Lula was right. "Ranger is not worth it. I hope he gets warts on his balls and they shrivel and fall off." Steph laughed a bit through her tears at that. Good, let her imagine him with shriveled balls. Whatever made her feel better.

" I got buff, I learned to shoot, I learned hand to hand combat and still he doesn't find me interesting enough." Shit. That was the same thing Vince had reported her saying. She did all that great stuff just to get Ranger back? Then it didn't even work the way she wanted it. Damn. She should forget about that slut Diane. Steph didn't realize how beautiful she was. How much guys were attracted to her. I wanted to shake some sense into her. I wanted her to do those things for herself, not for someone else. Shit. Ranger hurt her not once, but twice. I was sorry we'd called him when she was shot. She'd have been better off if he had stayed in Miami. He was such an ass.

Lester's POV

I waited in the huge black SUV at the curb immediately in front of the office building for Steph to come back outside. Her appointment was in a four story building in downtown Trenton. We had researched every damn office in that building and run background checks on everyone in the office where she was going. Ram had wanted one of us go with her and wait in the waiting room, but we nixed that idea.

It had been hard enough for Bobby to convince Steph to come here. She had been so depressed and broken up about Ranger. Plus, well, from what Bobby said, her self esteem sucked. Why the hell she couldn't see in herself what we saw in her, I don't know. But we wanted her to realize how beautiful she is. We weren't doing anything that would make her feel bad about coming here. We decided that she could make it from the office door, down the elevator, and out to the street alone without disaster. One of us always picked her up, though. She hadn't been in very good shape the last three times she had come here, and we didn't want her driving home upset.

I watched the doorway intently and saw Steph walk hesitantly through it. She got into the car silently, dabbing at her eyes. Dammit. I hated seeing Steph like that, but if coming here made her feel better and realize how beautiful she is, then it was worth it.

She looked up at me when she got in, stifling her tears. Part of me wanted to ask her how it went, but I didn't want to destroy her privacy. Shit. Therapy seemed to make her cry, but if she had to get through that to move on, then so be it. " Hey, Lester." Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy. She sniffed and put the tissue away. "Sorry. I know you guys hate it when I cry."

She gave a final sniff, then gave me a little smile. I grinned back at her. "Its ok, honey. I know how to make you feel better. Let's get some cake." She looked at me and gave a tiny grin, her face lighting up. I hoped I would be seeing that smile a lot more often.


	11. Chapter 11

Acceptance- Chapter 11

Sorry it has taken so long to update. Don't worry. Sad Steph is done. She is starting to move on. Please leave reviews, I thrive on reviews.

Acceptance-Chapter 11

Stephanie's POV

I was finally healing from getting shot. After the first few weeks of therapy, I started to feel better, both mentally and physically. Part of me still felt sad and lonely- after all who likes being rejected for someone else? But more and more of me was getting angry at Ranger for treating me like shit, and at myself for allowing him to do that to me. Yeesh! Next thing you know, I'll be on Dr. Phil, but you know what I mean. Mixed in there in the jumble of my feelings somewhere was pity- for Ranger of course. He was seriously fucked up.

Not to say that it has been totally easy. It is hard to suddenly just stop loving someone you have loved, who has been the center of your thoughts, for five years. Even if that person didn't want your love. I knew it would be easier for me if I could hate Ranger- but I couldn't. I just really felt sorry for him.

I stretched my arms above my head, and an involuntary groan escaped me. Two pairs of eyes the color of warm chocolate, Vince's and Lester's fell on me. The guys had been watching me closely since I came home from the hospital . I had only been on desk duty for weeks. My every word and movement closely scrutinized and discussed in the guys' daily briefings. I knew it was because they were so worried because they cared; but that didn't mean that it didn't bother me to be closely scrutinized. I smiled slightly at them, and I got two gorgeous masculine smiles in return. Geeze, for guys who specialize in being stealthy, they could have been slightly less obvious. Their gorgeous smiles made me think for a split second of Ranger's gorgeous and seldom seen smile. But I quickly brushed all thought of Ranger out of my mind.

I was actually lucky. I had the almost constant attention of about 12 of the most incredibly sexy guys in the world. These guys would do anything for me- they had been there for me through the worst thing in my life. I had an apartment rent free as part of the job. I felt protected and cared for but I also wanted to start to become whole and independent again.

Vince's POV

I had just finished my fifth set of bench presses when I saw Steph in my peripheral vision, just entering the gym, heading for the treadmill. Bobby had had her on a structured workout schedule since she had gotten shot. It was designed to help restore her stamina and eventually increase her strength for future fieldwork. My eyes tracked her across the gym. She had her hair up in a ponytail and no makeup. It was good to see her looking normal again. She had been in such a depression over Ranger, then almost dying, then having to get over Ranger all over again. We have all been so worried about her.

"Hey, Vince," she said as she passed me. I grunted as I finished my last press, then replied, " Hi, you're looking good, sweetie,." I didn't continue the conversation. I am not a huge talker- none of us Rangeman are, and I wasn't sure what mood she was in, so I figured it would be better to let her set the topic.

I finished my presses and started running on the treadmill next to Steph. She was jogging lightly. I was impressed, because I know how much she hates jogging. I ran hard on the treadmill, in my zone. After about 30 minutes, I heard Steph's treadmill stop. " Vince, do you think that, if I get in good enough shape again, I can go out in the field again? I want to start doing some low bond skips again." I didn't think she needed permission to operate as a bounty hunter on her own again. On the other hand, if she wanted to go out into the field as a Rangeman employee, she had to prove herself again first. And after that stunt she pulled during her last field assignment, that might take some doing.

I looked at her sidelong and saw that she was now working with some dumbbells. " I don't know, Steph. Probably ask Tank. He hands out assignments. He's the one you'd have to convince to let you into the field. I walked over to where she was doing benches, added ten more pounds to her barbells, and spotted her. " But for sure, you'll have to get into shape first. So do another set." I laughed at her groan, but she slowly did another set.

I also worked with her on her hand- to –hand. She was still stiff and sore from being shot, and complained about being tired. so we just did some light stuff, just basic holds and releases. I wanted to be sure that Steph could defend herself against a big guy like me, so I grabbed her from behind. " Oof, Vince, what…" Grabbing her from behind was a mistake, because now she was pressed up against me and I am sure she could feel my massive erection. After a few minutes, I loosened my grip, I couldn't handle this anymore, and she got away. The getting loose involved a lot of squirming and rubbing against me. Fuck. Now I am so fucking hard, my dick is standing at attention.

Steph looked back at me, smiling until she noticed the grimace on my face. Shit. I have such a huge fucking hardon, that I can't get rid of. " ok, asshole, I thought to myself ,, not unusual for that to happen when a woman's ass is pressed against you." Shit. This was Stephanie, almost like my little sister. " Are you ok, Vince?" she asked. I was taking deep breath sand my fists were clenched as I was thinking about old people having sex to try to get rid of my massive erection. But I was Special Forces, trained to endure the worst torture without making a sound. I managed to put my " I am a hard ass SOB " face on and said, " Not a bad start. We'll do more later." Then, I swaggered out of the gym to take care of business.

Steph's POV

I despise working out, but if I ever want to go out in the field again, I have to get back into shape. Not that Tank would ever let me go into the field again, after me getting shot and all, but I wanted to be ready, just in case I could convince the guys to let me go. Bobby had designed a workout for me, and I honestly hated doing it.

When I got to the gym, Vince was there finishing a set. ". He didn't seem to even notice me when I got on the treadmill. hi Vince, " I called " You're looking good, sweetie," he called back. See the guys are so sweet.

Vince went back to doing his presses and his Rangeman silence thing. I felt myself getting warm watching him. Really, what girl wouldn't notice him?? Or any of the guys. Vince was big dark haired, like Ranger. I heard him grunt and saw his arms bulge as he pressed a dumbbell that looked like it weighed a ton over and over. I watched the large Special Forces tattoo go up and down as his muscles bunched with each repetition. The tattoo made me a little sad, because it made me think of Ranger again.

Vince finished his presses and came over to run on the treadmill next to mine. He had it set fast, at a slope. I didn't talk, I couldn't really, I was out of breath from jogging. He didn't seem out of breath. He seemed like he could run like that forever. What the hell was it with these guys? Were they like machines?

Finally, my 30 minutes of hell was over. Vince was still running hard, as if he could do so all day. He was in that damn zone that all the guys can get into. "Vince, do you think that, if I get in good enough shape again, I can go out in the field again? I want to start doing some low bond skips again." He didn't answer right away, so I went over to work with barbells. I put 25 pounds on each side. He finished his run, and wiped his sweaty face with a towel. "I don't know, Steph. Probably ask Tank. He hands out assignments. He's the one you'd have to convince to let you into the field. But for sure you have to get into shape."

He waited until I had released the dumbbells , then added another 10 pounds to each side. Bastard. " Do another set." He said, standing above me, spotting me. That was a lot at once , and I was still sore , but I went ahead and did a set of eight. He laughed at the huge groan I gave on my last rep. " That's an ok start," he smiled that beautiful smile of his. Damn. He looks a bit like Ranger, except I never saw Ranger's smile.

Vince said he'd show me a little hand to hand stuff. It had been a long workout and I had yet to get back to my full stamina. " Ok, but I'm really tired." Vince gave me an evil smile. I knew that he'd never really hurt me, but…" He grabbed me unexpectedly from behind. " No fair, I yelled. You didn't tell me you were going to do it." I felt his body rumble with laughter. " Well, Steph, an attacker isn't going to announce that he's going to attack you now." Vince had me pinned against him, my arms immobilized, his hands on my wrists. He wasn't hurting me, but he wouldn't let me go either.

I thrashed around, trying to free my arms so I could slug him. His arms were so tight around me. I got distracted as I realized how good it felt to be hugged in such strong arms again. I felt a brief pang of sadness as I remembered how good Ranger's arms felt around me. Vince has big biceps. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get out of his iron grip.

I spent a few minutes squirming around, and I could feel Vince's hard, firm body against mine. He was so warm. Shit. He was strong. Probably most ordinary muggers wouldn't be this strong, would they? I would just have to steer clear of the ex- Special Forces muggers out there. I must have finally tired Vince out, because his grip suddenly loosened and I was able to break away.

I turned around to gloat but stopped at the grimace on Vince's face. I couldn't have really hurt him, could I? He looked as though he had been sucker punched in the gut, his fists clenching. "Oh, God, are you ok, Vince?" I started to go to him and noticed the massive bulge in his pants. I tried not to stare but if the bulging in his pants was any indication, it was massive . Geez, it was amazing how alike the guys were. Just rub up against a woman and they get rock hard. I couldn't believe Vince got an erection from me. Ranger always did, but not the guys. They were like my big brothers.

After a minute or so, Vince got control of himself , pulled himself up to his full massive height and put on his impassive face. " Not a bad start", he said. "We'll do more later." He swaggered out of the gym like a badass. Who says that a workout can't be fun?


	12. Chapter 12

Acceptance- Chapter 12

Sorry it has been so long. Please leave feedback, as I thrive on feedback. BTW, I am not getting paid by Marie Callendar's but you have to try their double cream blueberry pie. It really is like an orgasm in your mouth.

Stephanie's POV

I just finished telling Tank that I want a new apartment. That's right. I want a new apartment. Well, an apartment comes with the job. For awhile since I got shot, I've been living in one of the apartments in the Rangeman building. It is really easy to get home after work that way. The only downside is that you have 12 guys, granted 12 enormously sexy and buff guys, who know and discuss your every movement. Not that I really minded, since the guys were so sweet. But , well, I guess after awhile all the close scrutiny gets to be a bit smothering. Plus, I was on a quest to show Tank that I could take care of myself so that he'd let me go into the field again.

When I mentioned that I wanted to move out of Rangeman to Tank, he was, well, lets just say that he didn't take it well. He told me that I would be safer at Rangeman and the guys could "help" me with things. I finally told him that I want to go out in the field again, and getting my own place is the first step to building that independence. I didn't mention that I couldn't breathe with all the guys constantly surrounding me and discussing my every movement. After all, I was glad that they cared so much. It was just, well, a little TOO much.

Tank said that my going out in the field again wasn't dependent on me getting my own place. I wasn't sure what was, but I am sure the issue of Kevlar vests will soon come up. Tank realized that I had made up my mind and I was moving out. I know he was worried that the guys wouldn't be able to control my environment anymore. So he did the next best thing. He directed many of Rangeman's resources into looking for a place for me.

So, Rangeman directed several Rangemen to find a suitable apartment for Stephanie. Not that I really needed Tanks's approval of where I lived, but, well, I kinda did. Rangeman was footing the bill, after all. And, for all their intensity and overprotectiveness, I loved the guys and I wanted to have their knowledge and presence around me. I just needed to live in a place that didn't remind me so much, everywhere I looked, of Ranger.

Zip's POV

" Ok, what was wrong with this one?", Steph asked in an agitated voice. She was getting kinda pissed, but I was actually happier to see that she was getting back to normal. She had her hair in a ponytail under a black Rangeman hat. She had on jeans and a cute t-shirt. I don't think she knew it, but , with her cheeks all red from anger, she looked kinda cute.

I looked at her straightfaced and pulled my shades over my eyes. " It had too many bushes around it." I saw the incredulous look cross her face. Since Tank had made it a Rangeman priority to find a suitable apartment for Steph, we had all been given strict parameters of what constituted a safe apartment. Not that we needed any. We were all ex-Special Forces, we knew how to scout a safe location.

Vince and Lester had taken all the rental listings and carefully screened them. By screening, I mean they did background searches on the owners of the property, number of sex offenders and crime rates on the street, etc. The ones who had survived that screening were on a list to be visited. One of us visited every place with Steph to make sure it met our requirements. This one did not.

"Zip, that place had a dishwasher, took pets, and a hot tub. It was perfect. " My mind immediately flashed to Steph in a hot tub, maybe naked in the tub with sweat rolling… "…and your reason to reject it is too many bushes? What the hell do bushes have to do with anything?"

I had turned my attention back to the road. " Too many bushes means too many places for a assailant to hide." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Steph throw her hands up in the air. I had to work to keep a grin off my face. " How would any assailant be able to get into the bushes with all the motion sensor lights and security cameras you guys will put all around this place?"

She was really cute when she was pissed. Not that I'd ever tell her that. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to expressing myself to women, but even I am not stupid enough to do that. She looked at me as if she was expecting a reply.

"Steph, honey, we just want to make sure you are going to be safe." She didn't reply to that, which was for the best. What the hell am I supposed to say? We are so overprotective of you because we are afraid you will do something foolish and because we came so close to losing you, we don't want to go through that again? That it would kill us if something else happened to her? THAT would go over well.

Stephanie's POV

"Too many bushes?", I thought. What the hell? Am I ever going to find an apartment that fits all the Rangemen's requirements? First, Vince and Ram screened potential apartments and ruled out any whose landlords have criminal records, had a young unmarried guy as a manager, or those with a shady owner. Vince did a neighborhood search and ruled out any apartment within a mile of a sex offender. Do you know how many sex offenders there are in Trenton?

Vince and Tank decided that the apartment should be close to Rangeman, so they could " keep an eye" on me. Oddly enough, the amount of rent didn't seem to be a factor. When I mentioned that, Tank said," We'll pay what is necessary to make sure you are safe."

After we got the list of the apartments that passed the first screening, we had to look at them. I had gone out with Vince, Lester, and now Zip. It didn't matter who went out to look at them with me, because the guys were all insane with the security stuff. Geez. There is more to life than security.

So far, the guys had rejected every apartment because it had bad locks, was on a bad street, looked sleazy, was across the street from a liquor store, had no off street parking, had too many steps(??), crappy neighbors, had too many windows, was on the first floor, was too far from Rangeman, and now, too many trees. How would anyone be able to hide in trees with all the cameras they would surely put in place?

I was starting to get frustrated, thinking the guys didn't really want me to find an apartment. Not that any of the building managers would WANT me in their apartments, with my companions being all menacing toward them. I looked over sidelong at Zip, but his eyes were covered with mirrored shades.

Zip is actually younger than I am, he's maybe 27 or 28, but he acts like he's my big brother. I guess he can't help the swagger- all the guys have one. I guess it would be intimidating to some poor apartment manager. Especially, when one of the guys asks to see the safety inspection certificates for the elevator, or asks when the last crime occurred on the property. Zip had sandy colored hair, and smiled a little more easily than Ranger or the others, but he could look just as lethal when he tried. I know he did at least one tour in Iraq. The fact that whoever was with me was armed, didn't help put apartment managers at ease. Zip is just as safety conscious and protective as the rest of them, he just hides it better. I gave him one last mena look for his highhandedness, and then ignored him.

Vince's POV

"Sorry we are getting such a late start. I can't help it the guy I caught breaking into Stickman's furniture last night was such a candy ass wuss that he broke his leg climbing out a first floor window." I had just finished telling Steph the reason I had been so late getting off shift- I'd spent it with a whiney ass perp at the OR and then the cop shop. Steph's eyes were alive with excitement as I talked. I wasn't sure if it was me or the huge burger and onion rings the waitress had just put in front of each of us. We'd gotten such a late start that I figured we should eat lunch first, so here we were at Marie Callender's. Not my favorite place in the world, but I knew they had what Steph loved most-pie.

I was glad to see Steph dig into the burger. She had lost so much weight when she was shot, and she had only recently started to gain it back. Ok, so , the putting on weight was a good thing, the serious artery hardening that would result from this meal wasn't. We'd just have her do more cardio later to make up for it. I was just glad to see Steph enjoying life again.

" I can't believe you are eating a burger and onion rings," she practically screamed at me. " What kind of Rangeman are you? What happened to Ranger's "body is a temple" rule? " I looked at her appraisingly and stifled a grimace. She seemed to be getting over Ranger, but she still seemed to compare everything and everyone to him. Maybe getting her a place away from Rangeman WAS a good idea.

I grinned as I saw her eyes roaming down my muscular body. " I don't consider my body a temple, unless you want a place to worship." I watched a flush spread into her cheeks and she choked on her onion ring. She was embarrassed and it was really fucking cute. " Damn, sweetie," I teased, " after all you've been through, I'd get fired if you choked to death on my watch." I hid my chuckle as she got her self under control again. I shouldn't tease her, but she had been so sad and weepy for so long , it was good to see laughter on her face. She had cried so much, mostly on me, and it had killed me. I fucking hate when a woman cries. Blushing is so much better.

I didn't really say anymore, as talking isn't really my specialty . I am more of the strong, silent type. We ate in silence until Steph asked for the pie menu. I didn't eat pie. I just had coffee and enjoyed watching her eat hers. She had ordered something called, " Double cream Blueberry," which looked way too sugary. My body tightened and fuck, my dick got rock hard watching her eyes roll back in her heard and the tiny whimper of pleasure she gave as she enjoyed the pie. Goddamn. Now her tongue came out to lick some of the cream off her lips and I had to concentrate on not cumming in my pants. I am never going with her to eat pie again. Fuck. All I could imagine was her making that whimpering sound with me inside her. I clamped on my blankface and hardened my eyes as I tried to get control of my goddamn dick. This was fucking not funny.

Steph's POV

I was so excited that today was the day we were FINALLY going to get my apartment. Yesterday, Bobby had rejected my favorite one on the grounds that it was " too far from the closest ER." All of the guys had kept their blankfaces on, but I knew they were laughing inside. So, I was a frequent visitor to one ER or another, it didn't mean I had to live close to one.

But now Vince and I were on the way to THE apartment for a final inspection, and to sign the lease, etc. We'd gotten a late start, and I was hungry, and Vince hadn't really explained why. After all, communicative is not a quality I would attribute to any of Ranger's men. So I was thrilled when Vince steered the huge black Escalade into Marie Callenders. They had PIE!!!

I was good and ordered real food first and was surprised that Vince got a burger, too. I mean, didn't Ranger have a policy about his guys not eating what he called a "heart attack on a plate?" From the looks of Vince's body, he didn't eat burgers very often. I ran my eyes up and down his body. He was tall- over 6 feet, with dark hair and eyes the color of melted chocolate. He looked to be about my age- or maybe a year or so older. His handsome face broke into a smile much more easily than Ranger's , but his lethal look was just as scary. He had just a few squint lines- probably from the years he'd spent as a sniper. He had a SEAL tattoo on his massive biceps, and his pecs strained against the black shirt he wore. He had left his GLOCK and its shoulder holster locked in the Escalade, but I was pretty sure he had at least one other weapon on him. I felt safe with him, with all the guys, but, …I felt myself starting to blush and heard myself say, " What happened to "my body is a temple?" I scooped an onion ring into my mouth to cover my embarrassment. He looked in my eyes and said, " I don't consider my body a temple, unless you are looking for a place to worship." I instantly choked on my onion ring. Shit. How embarrassing was that? He knew I was lusting after him. Damn. I had to work more on my 'blankface."

His dark eyes seemed amused as I tried to get myself to stop coughing. He said, " I'd get fired if you choked to death on my watch." Damn. How embarrassing was that. I hate when I am a clutz in front of the guys. It took me a minute to get myself under control. Luckily the waitress came with my pie menu, and I ordered double cream blueberry. It is to die for. Vince had turned back into Mr. Quiet Guy, so I enjoyed my pie. It felt like an orgasm in my mouth. I felt my eyes roll back in my head in pleasure and a small whimper of pleasure escaped my lips. When I opened my eyes, I saw Vince looking at me with the most intense look on his face and squirming uncomfortably. Rangemen don't squirm, but Vince was, well… definitely squirming. Just to be mean, I licked my lips and I saw his entire body tighten and he gripped the edge of the table so hard I thought it might break. It felt good to know that I could get a guy hard again. I took my time enjoying the pie, but Vince couldn't wait to pay the bill and get the hell out of there. By the time he stood up, his erection had almost disappeared, a testament to his amazing willpower. I smiled up at him, but I think he was annoyed with me. He gave me blankface, put on his shades and strode quickly back to the Escalade. I didn't have time now to worry about his weird reaction, I was too excited about FINALLY getting into my own place.


	13. Chapter 13

Acceptance –Chapter 13

Please leave feedback. I thrive on it. It helps the ideas flow.

Tank's POV

We finally found Stephanie a new place. Not that any of us at Rangeman really wanted her to move out of the building, but we knew it was important to her. After all the screening, scouting, background checking, and paperwork, we had finally decided on a place Steph liked, that we could accept. It was a two bedroom duplex, more pricey than a regular apartment, but cost wasn't what mattered. Her safety mattered. Rangeman was , of course, paying for it, since an apartment was part of the job. Plus, if the company was paying for it, we had the right to decide what safety provisions should be made, and Steph couldn't protest.

I wrote a check to cover her first and last month's rent, and security deposit, wondering what Ranger would think. I communicated with him regularly regarding the business, since he did own it. But the guys had insisted that I not even mention Stephanie when I spoke with Ranger. And Ranger hadn't asked. I had the ability to pay bills and make financial decisions for the Trenton office, but when Ranger got the financials from the accountants, he would see the rent for Steph's apartment. He might be mad, but if he is , fuck him. We weren't letting Steph live in a shitty place like her old apartment. After coming so close to losing her, none of us was taking ht slightest chance with her safety.

Steph had been so excited about finding a new place. I really knew that she also wanted to go out into the field again, but, well, she had a lot of training to do before I was letting that happen. And she would have to prove to all of us, especially Vince, that she wouldn't do something foolish again, like she had the last time. Vince had been pissed at me for letting her go on that last mission. He'd warned me that something was up with her, and I shouldn't let her go, but I fell for her charm. I wouldn't do that again. I am much bigger than Vince, but I wouldn't want to mess with him when he's pissed. I could probably take him, but I would get pretty fucked up and I didn't want to find out who would win that battle.

Steph's POV

I was so excited about my new place, even though it would be a few more days until I could move in. Oh, the place was empty, and clean, but the guys had insisted that they add some safety features to the apartment BEFORE I moved in. The apartment was really a duplex, but there was no one in the other unit right now, so I would have a lot of privacy. It was two bedroom, two bath and had a small back yard.

The guys seemed to like the place because it was within two blocks of the Rangeman building. If you stood on the fifth floor of Rangeman and looked out the windows, you could actually see it. I knew that was one of the big advantages for the guys. They could actually see me drive home, or see who came over. Part of me resented that they still would be keeping such tabs on me, but it was only a small part. I loved the guys, and, well, it was a nice place. And Ranger was paying for it. I tried not to think about that. I had tried to put Ranger out of my head. Yes, he was still my boss, technically, but I wasn't going to deal with him unless I had to. He'd made his choice. I still sometimes wondered why he chose her instead of me, but those moments were becoming fewer and farther between.

My new place is now swarming with Rangemen. Well, ok, there are only four here, but they are so big it seems like swarming. Lester is outside with Ram, installing motion sensor lights every few feet. They had them in the driveway, one on the garage, two in the backyard, even on the other side of the duplex, and near the front and back doors. This place was going to light up like the Griswold's house from that movie "Christmas Vacation" and blind everyone within half a mile whenever something moved. There would literally not be a single section of the property that wouldn't light up at the slightest movement. I couldn't help but wonder if the owner knew they were doing this. On second thought, what apartment owner wouldn't want free high security lights on the property.

Hal was somewhere around, installing security cameras on the porch and in the driveway. The cameras would be monitored 24/7 by Rangeman. They would instantly see anyone who came up my driveway or onto the porch, or the backyard. They had wanted to put security cameras inside the foyer of the place, facing the kitchen and back door, but I drew the line at that. I mean, already they could see me drive home and would know whenever I came or left as well as any guests I might have. I allowed them that because my security was important to them. But having them know what happened inside my apartment was something else. As it was , I would have to keep the blinds closed. After all, if they got worried, I wouldn't be surprised if they put Vince or Ram on the fifth floor of Rangeman with binoculars to try to see what was happening inside my place. There were some disadvantages to working with so many hot, ex-military guys . Your privacy was less important to them than your safety.

Speaking of ex-military guys, Vince is also here, and replacing what he called the "piece of shit" apartment doors and installing security screen doors. I didn't realize that Vince wasn't ex-military. He is still military. I only just realized that he is still in the Reserves. While he did two tours in Iraq with Special Forces on active duty, he still has to do regular service in the reserves. There is very little chance he'd be sent back there, most of what he does now is training and short missions and stuff. I have no idea what he does in the Reserves, and he doesn't talk about it. He was a SEAL and a sniper in IRAQ , I think he might have even done some Black Ops stuff, but I doubt he is doing the same thing in the Reserves. But you never know.

He is currently taking off my front door and replacing it with a locking, security screen door and the heavy door with a metal security one. He is going to do the same thing for the back door and he is putting a steel door on the bedrooms, so I can lock myself in there if there is ever an intruder. As if an intruder could get past the outdoor lights, cameras, and the alarm that they'd be installing later to get to my bedroom before the guys could get there from three blocks away. I mentioned this to Vince, and he just gave me one of those blank looks that told me that arguing with them about it would be a waste of time and breath.

I am helping Vince, and trying to keep from drooling over him. All the guys are gorgeous, but Vince is really hot. He has black medium length hair and chocolate eyes. His skin is tanned from being outdoors, and his squint lines deepen when he smiles, which he does a lot more than Ranger ever did. He is wearing the standard Rangeman uniform, since he and the other guys are actually on shift right now. I can't help but stare at his massive biceps. I have never been much of a tattoo person, but the Special Forces tattoo on his bicep really adds to his sexiness. His biceps and pecs literally strain the tight black t-shirt. Even in my apartment, he wore his utility belt and his should holster housing his huge automatic.

All the guys were fully armed all the time, as I was expected to be when I worked at Rangeman. The difference was that they were completely at ease and comfortable using guns, I was not. I liked Vince. None of the Rangeman guys was particularly talkative or good with women, but Vince seemed to understand me the best. He and Lester. At least most of the time. It had been Vince who had convinced me to let them install all the safety measures. As if I had a choice.

"Um, Stephanie Plum, " " hello, is anyone home?" Vince waved his hand in front of my face to get my attention. I'd apparently been so lost in my examination of Vince's hotness that I hadn't realized he'd called my name twice. My eyes instantly focused on his grinning face. " Um, alertness is a virtue, Steph," he teased. I blushed in embarrassment that he had caught me daydreaming about him.

"Ok, Vince Sonterra, smartass, what do you want?" I teased back. He picked up the large screen door. "Hold this in place while I screw the hinges in place. "He grabbed the door and positioned it upright with the hinges. I held the door. It was hard because the door was actually heavier than it looked. I tried to keep the door from moving as Vince crouched behind me and started to screw. The hinges, he is screwing the hinges. Get your mind out of the gutter, Steph, I reminded myself. He had to reach around me from behind and reach up to screw in the top hinge. His body was pressed up against me, his crotch pressed against my ass, and I was nearly pinned against the screen door.

His face was close to mine as he adjusted the door. I was getting flushed and my heart was starting to hammer at his closeness. I must have made some small noise, because he bent his head to face mine, as I had mine facing him. Our faces were so close, and my body was pressed against his. I am known for reckless behavior, and today is no different. I was overcome with lust and moved forward to kiss him. I felt his muscles instantly stiffen in reflex as my lips met his, as if he was startled, then slowly he put his arms around me and deepened the kiss. His arms wrapped tighly against me, pulling me up against his hard body. He deepened the kiss for several seconds as if lost in the moment, and I felt the huge bulging mound pressing against me. After several seconds, then his arms came up to my shoulders and he gently, but firmly pushed me away from him.

I was lost in the kiss- damn, but he is an amazing kisser- I was weak kneed and breathless by the time his arms pushed me out of his embrace. I looked at him confused. I know he enjoyed the kiss, so then why push me away. I looked into his dark, burning eyes and I knew he saw my confusion." I'm sorry, " I said. " I shouldn't have done that . I just thought, well, you , know, I thought you wanted me," I tried not to stammer and sound like a complete moron. I ducked my head to keep him from seeing my embarrassed flush. I felt my eyes starting to tear up from yet another rejection.

Vince grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. He looked right into my eyes. " Oh, hell, yeah, I want you." His eyes dropped down to his crotch and the giant, hard mound straining against his pants." I think you can tell that I want you. I don't know if you really want me. I know you loved Ranger, and you still think of him sometimes. " I tried to look away, but his firm gentle grip on my chin forced me to look up at him. " I am not Carlos Manoso, I am Vince Sonterra. I am not Ranger and I don't want to be a substitute for Ranger. I know you are still getting over him, and until you do, you shouldn't get involved with anyone else." I felt myself flushing. I told you Vince knew me better than any of the others.

He put his arms around me in a more brotherly embrace. " You know you make me fucking hard as a rock and I think you are hot as hell. But I want you to want me for me , not as some Ranger-replacement. I don't want to be comparing everything I do to Ranger. Take time, get over your feelings for him, and well, we'll see what happens from there."

Wow. That was the most I heard him say in, well, ever…For a guy, he was pretty damn perceptive. He was right on the money, but I was embarrassed about it. I felt one small tear trickle down my cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb. Then he kissed my cheek and said, " Hey, take your time. I'm not going anywhere."


	14. Chapter 14

Acceptance- Part 14

This chapter is kind of a transition. Plus, I am now into Vince. Please leave feedback, it helps prevent writers block.

Steph's POV

I love my new apartment- or is it technically a duplex? Whatever it is- It is perfect- and more reinforced than Fort Knox. The way the guys have beefed up the security, I believe this duplex could withstand anything short of a nuclear explosion. They had even built me a "panic room" in case anyone got past the motion sensor lights, reinforced doors and sensitive alarm and camera systems.

It provides me with some privacy, but in some ways is like I never left Rangeman. I still have a tracker in my car and in my purse. They still monitor the security cameras twenty-four seven, and at least two SUVs come running whenever there is the slightest triggering of the motion sensor lights. This happened twice already, when two huge SUVs screeched into the driveway and Lester and Bobby men pile out- looking like SWAT , guns drawn and aimed at the intruder- the neighbor's dog that wandered into my drive and set off the motion detectors. I am pretty sure that one of the guys watches from the fifth floor as my car leaves Rangeman and travels the 2 ½ blocks to my duplex.

Today, I woke up and for the first time in ages, I felt good, better than I had in a long time. I fed Rex, and got dressed in my Rangeman uniform and had my favorite- donuts for breakfast. Since I was trying to get into shape to get back into the field, I decided to walk to work. Ok, so walking 2 ½ blocks isn't exactly primo cardio training, but it was better than driving. I got to Rangeman and into the elevator . It was the first time since Ranger and I had broken up that I didn't think of Ranger when I saw the elevator button for the seventh floor.

I got to the fifth floor and hear deep male laughter as soon as the door opened. I stepped off the elevator and saw a bunch of the guys huddled around a computer. They sobered up abruptly and took whatever it was off the computer as soon as the doors open. I was afraid to ask what they didn't want me to see.

" Hey, sweetie, you look great!" Bobby came up and gave me a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek. I beamed at him and followed him across the room to my cubicle as four other pairs of eyes followed my every movement. I was pretty sure Lester and Ram were checking out my ass. I didn't see Vince though. I had a fleeting sense of disappointment that he wasn't there. I was still thinking about that kiss we'd shared. It felt good, but I didn't want to rush anything. I wondered why he wasn't here- this was his usual shift. Then I remembered he told me he was going on a Reserves mission for a week or so. He didn't tell me where and I didn't ask.

I was just signing in to my computer to process yet another pile of searches when Tank came into the room to hand out assignments. It was amazing how the guys, even though they were civilians now, seemed to snap to attention with military precision when he walked into the room. " Listen up men, " he looked briefly at me, " and Steph. He handed out assignments, giving the best, juiciest out first. I couldn't help but laugh as I watched the guys reactions to the assignments they got. Hal seemed thrilled to be out in the field, and Ram was bummed about doing monitor duty.

"Bobby, you'll be with Steph." He looked at me and smiled. Bobby had a nice smile. And he was sweet. And of course, like all Rangemen, he was seriously built and hot. He and I were to track down one of my low level skips. Bobby was tough and serious,always polite and sweet, but I felt like he was always analyzing everything I did. Bobby was one of those guys, Ranger and Vince being the others, with whom I felt totally and completely safe. I felt like Bobby could handle anything-he could handle shooting stuff and medic stuff. I didn't really know much about his background. He was serious and silent. I actually hadn't worked with him much, but I liked him. Not as much as being with Vince, though. I was convinced that Vince could handle anything- like he could diffuse a nuclear bomb with a bobby pin and gum wrapper or something. Like a buffer, way hotter MacGyver.

I was glad to be back at work, but I still couldn't help but feel that I was constantly being watched. Like they had assigned Bobby to "babysit" me. The skip we were getting was low level, Bobby probably could get him by himself, but I couldn't complain. At least they were letting me out of the office again. It was the first step, I guess, to being allowed to be in a major field operation again.

Vince's POV

I had been on my mission for the last week. Part of me missed the excitement, the absolute readiness of active duty combat missions. The sniper's absolute observation of every object in his environment, absolute readiness for every situation. But I had done two active duty tours in a war zone, and when my deployment was up, I didn't sign up for another four. Now I was in a reserve group of former Special Forces soldiers who were highly trained and skilled, but no longer on constant active duty. It wasn't really the traditional reserves, but it wasn't active duty, either. It was the best of both worlds. I could still be a sniper- one of the best, but not have the hassle of all the active military stuff. That way I could work at Rangeman .

I lined the target up in the site of the Leopold scope of my long range light sniper rifle. As my hands adjusted the scope, my thoughts wandered beyond my mission, to Rangeman. In particular to Steph. I thought of the kiss we had shared in her new apartment just before I left for this mission. It took me totally by surprise, and that is not easy to do. I thought Steph was still into Ranger, but maybe she is getting over him.

Still, I am not sure how appropriate it would be. I mean, he's my boss, even if I am pissed at him for being such an asshole. Shit, he had her and threw her away so fuck what he thinks. But I don't want to be a Ranger rebound or temporary replacement. And who knows, she may be into one of the other guys, too. Not like she doesn't have a bunch of choices. Not a guy at Rangeman would turn her down. Except me, because I , apparently am a moron. If she has sex with me, I want it t be because she wants to have sex with Vince Sonterra, not because Ranger isn't available and I'll do. She needs to get over Ranger before she gets into someone else.

I lay flattened out on the roof of a building, my target within my sites, and my mind miles away. What the hell was the matter with me? I was acting like a fucking chick. I am usually very disciplined. I have that remarkable guy trait of compartmentalization- focusing only on that I am doing and putting all other thoughts out of my head. So why , while I saw on a mission, prepared to take out my target, waiting , completely still, for the go order, was I thinking about kissing Steph?

"Sniper one- fire." I gently squeezed the trigger and smiled as my target blew up. We guys are so fucking simple- we love anything that explodes. Boobs and bombs are the two things sure to get a guys attention. I felt my dick get hard as I imagined hat Steph's breasts looked like. I shook my head to try to get myself back focused on the job. "Sniper one. Target eliminated." I rose from my prone position and began to disassemble my rifle. I would be back in Trenton tomorrow and I was glad. I knew Steph was going out for low level skips and I knew the guys, Bobby in particular , would look out for her. When I got home, well, we'd see what happened.


	15. Chapter 15

Acceptance –Chapter 15

Please give feedback as I thrive on it.

Bobby's POV

Lester, Ram, Hal, Zip, and I were huddled around the computer, watching the video yet again. It was just as funny the fourth time around. I don't know what the hell Vince was thinking, he knew that there were cameras everywhere in the damn building. But the recording from the gym was hilarious. Vince and Steph had been practicing hand to hand. It was funny to watch each of them get all hot and bothered as they practiced. Steph's nipples were erect and ev ident through the sports bra and t-shirt she wore. On the screen, Vince backed up and had a mound the size of fucking Mount Everest in his pants. " Shit, he's fucking built. Look at the size of that boner, " Zip whispered as if in awe.

"That's nothing. She should see the size of my dick," I heard Lester proclaim loudly, thrusting his hips out to illustrate. Fuck. Was Lester jealous that Steph seemed to be just as turned on by Vince as he was to her? After all, Lester prides himself on his ability to get any woman he wants.

I wasn't really in awe- my dick was just as huge. But it was fucking hilarious to watch on-screen Vince try to hide his massive woody from Steph. I could sort of empathize with him, though. There wasn't one of us guys who hadn't gotten a hard on from Steph. None of US were stupid enough to have one captured on screen for everyone to watch over and over. We usually hid it and thought of old people until it went away.

We all laughed as onscreen Vince tried to pretend that he didn't have this massive bulge in his pants and walked coolly out of the room. Our laughter was interrupted by the sound of the elevator doors opening and Steph stepping off. Shit. What the hell happened to our observation skills? We immediately stopped mid-laugh as Steph walked off the elevator. Ram quickly closed the video on the monitor.

" Hey, sweetie, you look great!" I walked up and gave her a hug and a kiss. She did look great, better than she had in a long time. I was glad to see it. It looked like she was getting over Ranger, and , well, it seemed like she was into Vince. Lester and Ram were stealthily checking out her ass. Those assholes weren't very stealthy if I noticed.

Steph walked over to her computer and looked around as it booted up. She was probably wondering where Vince is- he's usually here this shift. But he is off on a mission with his Reserve group. I didn't know where he was going or what the mission was, but I bet it was something dangerous and cool. I sighed, sometimes I missed shooting things. Rangeman was a great place to work, but we usually didn't get to shoot anyone.

I snapped to attention at the sound of Tank entering the room. Steph looked up in surprise as he walked in and started handing out assignments. HAHA! Ram got stuck on monitors- bet he'll watch that video over and over.

"Bobby, you'll be with Steph," I heard Tank say. I met her blue eyes and smiled at her. She blushed. That is so fucking hot. I had babysit Steph duty, but that was ok. She is fun because you never know what kind of shit she'll roll in- as long as she damn well doesn't get shot again. She could probably have gotten the low level skip herself, but Tank didn't want her in the field alone. None of us did. We had always been protective of her, but since she had gotten shot, well, lets just say we keep close tabs on her. Steph grabbed her cuffs and her gun- probably unloaded. I grabbed a rifle to add to my guns and the medical bag. With Steph, you almost always needed the medical bag.

"Let's go, Bobby," she said as she strutted across the room. Six sets of male eyes followed every movement of her ass as it left the room.

Steph's POV

Bobby and I chatted as we drove Johnny Dominguez to the police station to get our body slip. Well, I chatted. Bobby answered my questions with one or two words. Bobby was sweet, and I felt safe with him. A little too safe. He didn't let me get anywhere near Johnny. He simply broke down the door to his apartment, walked in and cuffed him. The only reason I was dirty is because the floor was wet and I slipped and fell. No telling how long it had been since those nasty floors of Johnny's had been cleaned. Gross. I was a little disappointed that Bobby hadn't let me use the hand-to-hand moves I had been practicing.

After we had turned in the receipt to Vinnie's and I got paid, he took me back to my apartment so that I could shower and change. My apartment was now like a fortress. I had to open three deadbolts and then turn off the alarm before I could even get in. Bobby followed me in." I'll wait for you wand then drive you back to Rangeman." I smiled and shook my head, but I was really getting tired of all this overprotective crap from the guys.

"Bobby, I'm a big girl. I believe I can walk two and a half blocks in broad daylight without getting mugged or attacked or hurt. Besides, anyone on the fifth floor of Rangeman can clearly see me all while I am walking. And you can track me by the GPS in my purse." I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door. I wanted some privacy. " Go ahead back to Rangeman and go back to watching that porn video or whatever you guys were laughing at in the office." He suddenly laughed and allowed himself to be shoved outside. " Ok, sweetie. See you in awhile." With Bobby gone I was free to relax and have a nice leisurely shower.

Vince's POV

No sooner had I returned from my mission with the Reserves than that Lester and Hal started in on me about the goddamn video from the workout I did with Steph. Fuckers. Like they never had a boner. I bet they were jealous that my dick is so fucking big and theirs are so fucking tiny. Assholes. Their boners probably look more like anthills than mountains.

I had come back down to the gym just to get away from them. I was bummed that Steph was out with Bobby getting skips. Oh, I knew Bobby would take care of her. He was a badass, almost as tough as me, and if she did get hurt, he was the one who could take care of it. I had missed Steph a lot more than I wanted to admit during my weeklong mission. Damn, now I was turning into a fucking chick. I watched the massive rippling of my bicep as I did another curl and remembered the way Steph's hard nipples had shown through her shirt while we worked out.

"Hey, Vince," I was startled by the sound of her voice behind me. What the hell was the matter with me? I should have heard her coming up behind me. I turned and felt dick get hard and swell as I looked at her slender form in the black t-shirt and tight black jeans. At least I learned from my mistakes. I pointed the tiny remote at the video camera and scrambled it so that no more " Vince with a massive woody" DVDs could be made. Fuck. She looked amazing. Her blue eyes were sparkling, her hair the slightest bit damp, and she smelled delicious. I really had missed her.

Before I could even open my mouth to reply, she started talking a mile a minute. " Did you have a good mission? I have been mostly doing searches, but I went out with Bobby and got Johnny Dominguez. Bobby just kicked the door down. Will you teach me to do that? I was bummed that it was so easy. Bobby just went in and cuffed him. I didn't get to use that cool move you taught me."

She stepped closer to me and I put down the dumbbells I had been been curling. She grabed my hand and walked to the mat. Fuck. My hand was practically sweating. "Will you show me how to do that one again so I can be ready next time?" She grabbed me and tried to rock me off balance so that my body weight would knock me over. No way she could down me otherwise. I let her drop me and my whole body stiffened at the sight of her breasts visible when her v neck t-shirt gaped open at as she bent over me. Damn. I watched her smile and lick her lips as my entire body stiffened. She had gorgeous lips.

I was conflicted. She was so fucking hot and I wanted to fuck her. But the part of me that cared abut her wanted to take it slower, let her be sure of her feelings first- for me and for Ranger. She wriggled over me and that was it – my fucking nobleness was gone.

I grabbed her and rolled so that she was flat on her back on the mat, directly under me, and I was leaning over her. The sudden movement made her laugh and her breasts heaved. She was giggling and laughing up at me and so fucking hot. Her breasts were shaking with her laughter and her lips looked so soft. I debated the wiseness of making my move, but then my eyes followed the movement of her necklace as it dropped into the valley between her breasts and I was lost. Fuck. It isn't like we're getting married- its just a kiss.

My fucking testosterone took over. She seemed a bit startled for a moment when my lips touched hers, then she relaxed and kissed me back. Jesus F. Christ, her lips tasted so damn good. I felt my head buzz as I grabbed her lips and nipped them between my teeth. The arm that was holding me up over her was shaking as her hands trailed down it and then fell to her sides. My other hand was still on her waist from when I had rolled her. My fingers stiffened and then flexed tightly against her waist. She made a hot little wimpering noise as my tongue grabbed hers. Damn, I should stop this before I wind up fucking her on a mat in the damn gym. My tongue played with hers and she made a fucking sexy moan and my hand started training from her waist, up her firm abdomen on the way to fondle those breasts.

"Dude, if you are giving her CPR, your hand should be way up higher. And I don't think you are supposed to suck on her tongue." I stiffened and immediately at the deep male voice and broke away from Steph, who gasped and started to sit up. What the fuck was the matter with me? Some battle seasoned warrior I am , letting someone get close behind me without hearing them. I straightened and whipped around to see Lester and Bobby, smirking and grinning at us like idiots. Bastards. Bobby grinned, "Busted!"


	16. Chapter 16

Acceptance Chapter 16

**Warning: Explicit sex scenes. I am not so good at sex scenes. Please leave feedback as I thrive on it. **

Steph's POV

It has been a couple of weeks since Lester and Bobby caught Vince and I making out in the gym. Of course, Rangemen being the gossipy old women they are, the word of Vince "practicing CPR" on me spread all over the company. By the next morning, Bobby, Ram and Zero were trying to corner me, telling me they needed to "practice" too. Not that that would be so horrible, since all the Rangemen are hot, but I only have eyes for Vince.

We've been a bit discreet at work, no PDAs or anything like that, but I know when he is around I can't take my eyes off of him. He doesn't grab me at work or anything, he is nothing if not professional, but he seems to be always focused on me. All the guys tease me that I practically drool when I look at him He is so sexy. He is one of the biggest Rangemen, over six feet tall. He is broader than Ranger, but still lean. He has black hair and dark brown eyes, rimmed by squint lines that make him look incredibly sexy. While he can be more intense than the other guys when he wants to be, he smiles easily and his smile just melts me. He actually laughs, and often makes me laugh. His arms are just so amazingly strong and warm. I am not one for tattoos, but his tattoo on his bicep is a major turn on for me. And don't get me started about how much I want to jump him when he wears his black Rangeman uniform and his dark shades… so fucking sexy.

Vince amazes me because he seems to be able to handle anything. He is like MacGyver. He is strong, intelligent, brave, patient, and , unlike some men who shall remain nameless, he doesn't play games. He's totally solid, physically and mentally. That's what I like the best about him. He is the strong, silent type, but when he does talk he's open and honest and not afraid of letting someone in. I know how he feels about me because he tells me and shows me. He is also very patient and surprisingly tender and sweet. Have I mentioned Vince's hands? Oh my god, his hands are big and strong and he can make me crazy with those fingers.

Vince also seems to understand me more than anyone I've ever met. He knows I like him, want him, and am starting to have powerful feelings for him. But he also knows that I am still finding myself and who and what I am. He doesn't let me play games and constantly calls me on it when I do. He bolsters my self confidence by forcing me to be honest with myself. Whenever I say something that indicates I am in denial, he looks me straight in the eye and says, " that's bullshit." He seems to see me for what I am and thinks I'm beautiful anyway. While we make out all the time, we haven't had sex yet, because he wants me to be sure am over Ranger before I have sex with him.

Not that he doesn't have faults. He doesn't talk much, and like all the guys, he is a serious alpha-male overloaded with testosterone, and overprotective. He is maddeningly practical, neat, stubborn, and INSISTS I learn to shoot at least three different kinds of weapons. I know his tours in Iraq have left him with some emotional scars that I am sure he'll probably never share with me.

I have been working hard to prove to the guys, Tank and Vince especially, that I am ready to go back on a dangerous operation. Vince encourages me, but he is wary. After all, he was the main one who cared for me when I had nearly died due to my stupidity. I am quite sure he isn't going to let that happen again.

Vince's POV

We are about to go on a raid, and I am uncharacteristically nervous because we are taking Steph with us. The mission is pretty dangerous, but there isn't much of a chance of her getting hurt again, since none of us is ABOUT to let that happen. I am providing rifle cover , so I will not be going into the building. Steph will go BEHIND Lester, Bobby, and Ram. I still don't want her anywhere near something like this, but I know she needs to prove to us that she won't do something rash and get hurt again before we can let her into the field. She also has to prove it to herself.

I pull her over to the SUV. " Come here," I say, crooking my finger at her. " I know, Vince, I have to wear the vest." She flashed me one of her damn smiles, but I am not falling for that shit. I am putting the goddamn thing on her myself. We have gotten a Kevlar vest in her size so it fits her perfectly. As I strap it over her, I review, for about the fifth time, her directions. " You are to have your gun out and stay BEHIND Lester and Bobby and Ram. You are to do exactly WHAT they say WHEN they say it without arguing. If they say leave the building, you do it. If they put you somewhere and tell you to stay put, you stay put. Shoot anything that moves the you don't recognize. Understood?" I knew I was yanking the strap on the Kevlar hard, but I was worried and frustrated that I wasn't going in there with her. I trusted the guys, they'd protect her with their lives, but I still wanted to be there. " Are you perfectly clear regarding your directions?. " I ask, checking again that Her Glock is loaded and a round chambered. She nodded. I look into her eyes, giving her my " I am serious and you don't want to fuck with me" look.

" Say, yes , Vince , I understand and I will obey all directions given to me.," I prompt, wanting her to acknowledge out loud that she knows what to do. She parrots, " Yes, Vince, I understand and will obey all directions given to me, " then those lips break into a huge smile. I kiss her hard and say, " Be careful and do what you are told." Damn that kiss left me wanting more. Shit. I have about had it with this patience shit. I walk her over to Lester, who double checks her Kevlar and her gun. See, I told you they are as protective as I am. " Ok, gorgeous, stay behind me and Bobby . Ready to rock and roll? " I turned away and picked up my huge rifle and walk to a spot about 50 yards away from which I can cover them, and I see Steph get in line to enter the building.

Steph's POV

The mission was a success, with no one ( including me) doing anything stupid. I even took down one of the bad guys. Lester and Bobby hugged me and joked that now I was ready for " the tough stuff." Vince and I are next to each other in the SUV on the ride back to Rangeman, and with the adrenaline still flowing, it is pretty intense. He has been staring at my mouth and I can see his huge erection. We are both sweating under our Kevlar. Fuck. Typical guy, turned on by guns and shooting and chicks in Kevlar? That is perverted. His fingers are stroking and fiddling with the rifle and it is making me wet imagining his fingers on me. I am pretty sure the rest of the guys in the SUV can smell the hormones between us, and there are a few speculative looks, but they don't say anything. I make eye contact with Vince and the slightest sexy grin slips onto his face, and I know I am going to get jumped when we get back to Rangeman.

Vince and I shed our gear in the garage of Rangeman and hurried onto the elevator. Vince stands against the elevator wall, staring at me, not touching me, since there were cameras in the elevator. I could feel the sexual tension crackling between us, making my knees tremble. I jump when the bell rings on the fourth floor. Vince crooks his finger at me to "come here" and then I follow him down the hall to his apartment.

He shuts the door hard behind me, and as he approaches me, I see the straining in his pants and the look in his eye and know his patience is gone. I know he'd stop if I told him no, but who the hell would be stupid enough to say no to him. Between the weeks of pent up desire and the adrenaline rush of the mission, our first time having sex is going to be a wild ride.

His eyes never leave mine as he backs me up against the wall. His firm, warm lips come down on my lips, hard, his tongue invading my mouth. I am pressed between the hardness of the wall and his hot, rock solid body is pressed against mine. His lips work their way down my next, kissing and nipping. His arms tighten around me and his muscles bunch as he lifts me, taking my weight as I wrap my legs around him. His hands move up my back, taking my shirt off.

"Sweet trick with the shirt.," I manage to mumble. He isn't about talking. His lips travel down my chest , find my hardened nipples, and his warm supple mouth closes over the right one, licking and sucking. I arch my back so he sucks me harder and he tightens his grip on my waist. I run my hands over his rippling back muscles to pull his shirt over his head. ""God, your breasts are so fucking beautiful, " I hear him mumble as he switches sides to tantalize the other breast. His hands slide down me, those strong, supple fingers sliding between my legs. Those magical fingers that make the minute adjustments on his rifle work the same magic on me. "Oh, Vince," I whisper, my breathing rapid and gasping from the fingers stroking me. I bury my face in his hair as I feel myself go up, and then I stiffen and tense. " Oh , Vince, " I yell as I orgasm, my body stiffening and my torso bucking against those fingers. He grips me harder and his fingers toy with me, prolonging my climax. His mouth came over mine again to stifle my scream.

He carries me to the bed and lays me down, following to lay on top of me . I unbuckledhis pants and started to pull them down, grabbing his dick and caressing it. He shrugged out of his pants, then follows me down onto the bed, he spread my legs and his mouth replaced his fingers between my legs. Oh, my God, if I thought his fingers were magic, his mouth was fucking miraculous. I couldn't think or breathe as his tongue worked me, sending me up higher and higher. My fingers bunched in his hair, dug into his shoulders, leaving scratches. My mind went blank and I heard myself scream as his mouth coaxed me to three climaxes. I lay there delirious, hoping the room was soundproofed, because I had gotten a bit loud. He slid back up and Kissed me, I could taste myself on him.

Vince rolled onto the bed, pulling me on top of him. He had made sure I was well pleasured before he was, but I could tell by his ragged breathing and minute shaking that he wasn't waiting anymore. I straddled him and sat down over his giant erection. He was huge and I am not that big, so it felt tight when his dick penetrated, but I took him all the way. His muscles flexed and he groaned as I took him all the way to the hilt. I rocked over him, and I heard him growl. He put his hands on my hips and his muscles bunched as he rocked me up and down over him, his arm muscles straining. I heard him mumble, " Oh, fuck," as he rocked me back and forth plunging into me over and over. His handsome face contorted as the pleasure ripped through him.

I felt him stiffen, then he rolled himself over, putting me under him. He pulled out long enough to put on a condom, then plunged back in. Within a few seconds, his entire body went rigid and shook, and he shouted and squeezed me tight. After his orgasm, he collapsed on me for a moment, and I loved the weight of his body on me. Then, he rolled to the side, and we lay there, oblivious to everything except the sensations shooting through us, both breathing hard. After a minute, my mind started working again and I realized the true meaning of the phrase, "fucked senseless." Damn.


	17. Chapter 17

Acceptance- Part 17

_This chapter doesn't really move the story along, but I thought it'd be interesting to see the sex scene from the guy's point of view. . I am not, nor have I ever been , a guy, so I have to guess what would be going through his mind. Please leave feedback. _

**WARNING: This chapter contains explicit sex.**

Vince's POV

After we finished the mission, I could feel the adrenaline still pumping through me, making me throb.. On the ride back in the SUV, I sat next to Stephanie. That was a mistake, because it killed me to keep my hands off of her. Her blue eyes held mine and promised that the minute we were alone, well, the waiting would be over.

Damn, can't Tank drive this goddamn SUV any faster? All the guys are looking back and forth between Steph and I, then smirking at each other. They know what is going to happen the minute I get her alone in a spot with no cameras. I am going to fuck her senseless.

Geezus, I am so fucking horny and adrenaline pumped that my hands are trembling. Imagine that, me the steady bad-ass sniper , scared of nothing, with fucking trembling hands. My dick is so damn hard I think it might explode. I can't take my eyes off Steph. I keep staring at her full, soft lips. It is hot and I follow the trail of the small beads of sweat that trickle down into the valley between her breasts, and… I catch myself growling and Ram, sitting next to me, gives me a knowing look. Bastard.

We are finally back to the damn office and I can't get this damn gear off fast enough. Steph is strapping hers off too, and seeing her peel off layers just makes me hornier. I am so hard I am sure I am walking funny. Ram stops to debrief me on the mission, but I brush right past him. Steph also rushes past them to join me in the elevator. I can hear the crude jokes the guys are making even as the elevator door closes. Fuck them.

I grip the rail in the elevator so fucking hard I think I left a dent in it. Steph's black t-shirt is wet from sweat and outlining her torso, and her nipples are… fuck. I have to look straight ahead. I can't touch her or even look at her here in the elevator. I know the guys are watching the elevator cams in the control room.

The elevator takes for fucking ever to get to the fourth floor. Finally, we reach my apartment and we are alone. I am through with the patient waiting shit. This is alpha male time. I back Steph to the wall and pin her between it and me. Her breasts press hard against my chest . I lick and suck down her neck and chuckle arrogantly as her knees buckle. I take her weight and when her legs wrap around me I nearly cream myself. Get this fucking shirt off her. She mumbles something but my mouth is buried in her neck. I follow the sweat down her chest and catch one of her nipples in my mouth. She arches her back and more of her breasts spill into my mouth and I suck her harder. Fuck. Her breasts taste so fucking good. She yells my name and I growl possessively and my arms squeeze her more tightly to me. My fingers play with her, teasing her, taking her to the brink and backing off over and over, when she comes I stifle her screams with my mouth.

Her eyes are dazed and she has a delirious smile on her face. I open her legs and take her clit in my mouth and my tongue works her. She is writhing and gasping my name and her fingers dig into my shoulders,leaving the tiny pain of scratches. She is so wet and my mouth could fucking work her all day. She gasps for air and writhes and bucks as my mouth takes her to the brink and keeps her hanging there, knowing I have total control of her body, then my tongue sends her over the edge into another plane of existence. My arms hold her spasming body tightly to my mouth, drawing out her third powerful orgasm. The bucking finally stops and I can hear her breath coming in rapid gasps. Her eyes are glazed over and unfocused and I am pretty sure she can't remember her own name. I kiss her again, letting her taste herself on my lips, claiming her.

My dick is so hard I can't even breathe. I roll over, pulling her on top of me. She straddles me and my massive hard on. I am huge and erect. I am probably the same size as Ranger, but it has been months for her and I am not sure she can fit all of me. I yell and growl when she sits and takes all of me inside of her. Fuck. She is so fucking warm and tight. She starts to rock over me, and I put my hands on her hips, fingers tightening, rocking her up and down on me faster and faster. Her boobs are bouncing right above me and my entire body tightens, about to lose myself.

Some tiny part of my mind remembers to pull her off me and put on a condom. Then I pull her under me, thrusting hard. After just a few moments, my entire body stiffens and I yell, my arms reflexively tightening, squeezing her tightly to me, as I spill myself. Afterwards, I fall spent, on top of her. Fuck, her breasts feel so good squashed against my chest . This feels so fucking good, but I realize I am probably crushing her, so I roll to the side, heaving, my body tingling. Good thing this is a secure building because if a bad guy came through that door we'd both be screwed because I can't move a muscle. I drift off to sleep with one thought, "mine."

Steph's POV

I am drifting on a cloud, hearing the soft thrumming of the wind drifting past me. I smile and sigh. I slowly open my eyes to find that my soft cloud is actually Vince's muscular chest, the thrumming of the wind actually the slow, steady cadence of his heart beneath my ear. I smile slightly, remembering the night before. The dark hairs of his chest tickle my nose, and I pull slightly away. Instantly, his massive arm wrapped around me, cupping my breast, tightens reflexively, wanting to keep me close to him.

I have never gotten to wake up next to a guy and relish the aftermath of mind blowing sex. With Ranger, there was no snuggling or leisurely lying in bed. So I am enjoying this closeness, wrapped in Vince's arms. His eyes are closed, so I take a moment to study the lines of his face. That incredible mouth that can make me come apart. Vince didn't get much sleep last night. The sensations caused by his fingers between my legs had awakened me in the middle of the night. I didn't even come fully awake, but I remember the pleasure as he made love to me a second time.

Due to his military training, he is completely still when he sleeps. He can go into one position and sleep that way all night without moving, even a twitch. But he is aware of his surroundings, even in sleep, and will come awake instantly at the slightest sound or movement. I am a restless sleeper, always tossing and turning. Every time I would change position, Vince would come awake, assess the situation, readjust himself to my new position, and when I had settled into my new position, he would go back to sleep. I had probably awakened the poor guy seven or eight times last night. The last time, he'd opened his eyes, seen me turning next to him, pulled me to his chest and anchored me there tightly with his massive arm. I don't know if it was his warmth, his arm around me, or the steady beat of his heart under my ear that calmed me, but I stayed sound asleep, tucked next to him, the rest of the night.

I felt something inside me that I can't remember feeling for a long time- years even. It was the feelings of warmth, contentment and happiness. I snuggled more tightly against Vince and his arm instantly tightened, holding me close. I closed my eyes again and drifted to sleep against his muscular chest, never wanting the feeling to end.


	18. Chapter 18

Acceptance- Chapter 18

I wanted to update this one pretty quickly. As you know, I love any type of reviews so please leave one.

Vince's POV

Having sex with Steph last night was incredible. And this morning we did it two more times. I know I am amazing in bed, and its very unlike me to be self-conscious, but I wanted to fuck her to another plane of existence so she wouldn't be comparing me to Ranger. After last night, I am pretty sure any last thoughts of Ranger are long gone. Hell, after last night, I doubt she can think of her own name.

The only problem with last night was, well , the noise. I made Steph scream and beg, repeatedly, and loudly. Ok, so I'm an arrogant bastard, but I Ioved taking Steph right to the edge of climax, and hold her there, making her scream and beg for me to take her over. With Lester's and Bobby's apartments surrounding mine, well, there might be noise issues. Too fucking bad for them. Assholes.

When I woke up again at 7:00am, Steph was still sound asleep on my chest. I grinned . I guess I wore her out. I moved out from under her carefully, because I didn't want to wake her. She is so sweet and innocent when she sleeps. I kissed her , dressed in my Rangeman uniform and gear, went down to the control room for my assignment.

Right away I ran into Lester. He made a big show of a huge, noisy yawn, and stretched his arms high. " I didn't get much sleep last night. Kept hearing a woman screaming. " He mimicked a high-pitched falsetto female scream, " Oh, Vince, you studly sex god, you. Oh, Vince, fuck me hard." Then he burst into laughter. So did Bobby, Ram, and Woody, who were also in the control room. " I was going to invite her to my place so she can find out how a real man does it…"

"Fuck you Lester. You're just jealous because your woman don't scream, they cry when they see how tiny your fucking dick is," I replied. The guys laughed again, and there were "ooooohhhs…" and "got you fucker"s from the guys. Still, I was going to have to think about this. Steph did get a little loud, not that she could help it, since I was so good with my mouth . Next time maybe I should gag her or something.

I was getting coffee and had just settled down at the monitor when a can of WD-40 appeared in front of my eyes, attached to Bobby's hand. " Dude, you might want to oil the springs on your bed. " He thrust his hips and made the "eeeeeeyyeeeyyyyeeeyy" sound of creaking bedsprings. All the guys laughed again. Fucker. I grabbed the can, and stuffed it into my desk drawer. " Thanks, Bobby. I know you don't need this, since you never have women in your bed." More "ooohhs…." Ram's voice, " I told you he was going to fuck her brains out last night. I wonder if Steph can even walk." Money was exchanged between Woody and Ram."

Shit. I didn't mind them giving me shit about it. Hell, that was what guys did. I gave them shit too. But I didn't want them giving Steph shit about it. I didn't think they would because they all cared about her , too. Plus, I am one of the biggest guys here and they know I'll beat the fuck out of anyone who bothered her about it.

Tank came in and gave us a briefing for the day. " Ok, men, cut the shit. What Vince does with his cock is his own business." He gave them a menacing look because I knew he was worried they'd tease Steph , too. "Woody and Hal will be doing the live security in the field today. Lester, you and Ram will be on monitors, Vince and Zip will head over to Vinnie's. He's got a hot one for us. Bobby…"he stopped to peg Bobby with a level stare, " Bobby, you will help Steph with her skips today."

All eyes flew to me to see what my reaction to that would be. I didn't have one. I was a professional. Work was work and private life was private life. I didn't want or expect to be assigned exclusively to Steph. I knew all the guys at Rangeman were hardasses and, for all their teasing, extremely skilled professionals . There wasn't one of them that I didn't trust completely to guard my back. I knew they all loved Steph, too, and would be as careful with her safety as I was. Lester, Ram and Bobby were especially protective of her. No one wanted her getting hurt ever again. I gave them a level look, called, "Comeon Zip" and headed out to Vinnie's.

Steph's POV

I awoke slowly and stretched languidly, not surprised to see the space next to me in bed empty. It was 9:00am and I was sure Vince had been up at the crack of dawn. Goes with all that military stuff. I grinned , remembering last night. Pretty much all I could remember was pleasure. The last time I had had sex had been with Ranger, and how different this was. Oh, Ranger always made sure that I had at least one orgasm, but it would be like a duty, make sure Steph comes, then on to his pleasure. Vince was different. Vince enjoyed pleasuring me, enjoyed making me scream, enjoyed me coming apart in his arms. Ranger had sex with me, Vince made love to me. There was a huge difference.

I was late for work and I knew that the guys would be speculating about that. I called Ella and asked her to bring an extra Rangeman uniform to Vince's apartment for me. That would save me the trip home. Yes, I know, its only two blocks away, but I'd have to leave the building, the guys at the front desk would notice, and I didn't want to draw any more attention to the fact that I spent the night with Vince than I needed to. I went into Vince's bathroom and noticed that I looked pretty happy. By the time I was done in his shower, the clothes were there, so I dressed and went down to work.

I stopped in breakroom for a granola bar for breakfast and then, not sure what to expect from the guys, took a deep breath and went into the control room. " Good morning , sweetie," Bobby called from halfway across the room. When I passed the monitors, Lester reached out and grabbed me, and pulled me into a hug. " You are looking gorgeous today, " he whispered. Ram gave me a quick squeeze and a kiss on the head.

Bobby came over and handed me a Pop-Tart. "Here, eat this. Its not exactly healthy, but its better than a donoghut. I'm with you today, Steph," he said. Ready to go?" "Sure," I said, " Rod Simons hangs out at the Quakerbridge Mall, so lets head over there." Bobby grimaced. He knew chasing a skip at the mall also meant taking time to shop. He finished getting his gear, loaded my gun and handed it to me, and we set off. " I can drive, " I said, grabbing the keys for one of the SUVs. Bobby grimaced and took the keys from my hand, stopping to ruffle my hair. " Not a chance, sweetie."

Vince's POV

Zip and I had just caught our skip, and Zip was shackling his legs to the hook sticking up from the floor of the backseat, when my cell phone rang. The window on the front said, " Restricted." I took the brief call and then Zip and I headed over to the police station to drop off the skip. Shit. I was being called for deployment on another mission. I wasn't sure how long I'd be gone, but it could be up to two weeks. Most likely, it would be out of the country, Black Ops, and very dangerous.

"What the matter, dude," Zip asked. " I just got called up for another deployment starting tomorrow. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. Probably combat stuff. Fun shit." Zip nodded knowingly. " You don't want Steph to worry , right? Don't worry, we'll take care of her, just like we always do."

After shift, Steph came to my apartment for dinner and more sex. She should be used to me leaving, it happened fairly often, but this was the first time since we were "together." " Hey, baby, I got a call today to deploy tomorrow. " We had just finished making love again and were now lying naked on my bed, in her favorite position, her head on my chest. "I'll probably be gone a week or two at the most." I saw the tiny frown lines form between her eyes. "Where are you going?, oh, wait, you can't tell me, can you?" I stroked her hand that was lying on my chest and nodded. She eyed the gear I had packed, including two rifles, NVGs, and some other equipment, and looked up at me hesitantly. " Will it be dangerous?" Fuck yeah, I thought. They didn't send the most elite ex-Special Forces reserve team, complete with snipers into the field to take little old ladies to play Bingo. No, we got the tough stuff.

When they needed someone to get in, kick ass and take names, and get out without anyone knowing we were there, they called us. That was why I loved doing it. I loved the danger, the thrill, the idea that I was doing something very few men could. Still, I didn't want Steph to worry. " Not really," I lied. "Mostly just training stuff." She didn't look like she believed that. ' Don't worry about me. We are the best at what we do and we don't take foolish risks," I told her. She traced the old scar on my chest from an armour piercing bullet that I had taken years ago. " You've been shot," she said, tracing it. I rolled her over so she was on her back and I was above her. "So have you," I said, kissing newly healed scar just inches from her heart. Fuck. The memories of her getting shot that day would never leave my mind. I knew how to take care of myself, I was more worried about her. I could NEVER bear her getting hurt again. " The guys will look out for you, especially Bobby, Zip, and Ram. Make sure you do what they say so you stay safe. Understood?" She knew I was expecting an answer, so she said, " I promise I'll do what the guys tell me to." I kissed her scar one last time and then caught her left nipple in my mouth and started to suckle her hard. I felt her heart race beneath my cheek and her breath break as she arched high to meet my mouth and I once again made her come apart in my arms.

Steph's POV

Vince had been gone almost a week, and I couldn't believe how much I missed him. The guys were all doing their best to keep me occupied so I wouldn't worry. Vince had called yesterday and left me a brief message. I had memorized it.

" _Hey, baby, its Vince. Probably be gone at least another week. Don't worry, I'm fine. Be careful. Listen to the guys and stay safe. I miss you."_

I smiled as I replayed the message in my head. I was eating lunch with Bobby and Ram. They probably didn't know where Vince was or what he was doing, but they knew the type of mission he was on. "Hey, Ram, is Vince's mission dangerous?" Bobby and Ram exchanged a quick look, then Ram said, " No, darlin', its usually just drills and stuff. The biggest thing he has to worry about is boredom. And I know he doesn't want you worrying about him." Typical guys, figured that just because they told me not to worry, I wouldn't.

We finished lunch and were heading back to the control room. Tank rushed past and then I was suddenly surrounded by a wall of Rangemen. Ram grabbed me and gently shoved me into a chair, then he and Bobby stood on either side of me, with Lester and Zip flanking us. It was like a blackout as I was surrounded by a giant wall of black clad Rangemen. I had no idea what was happening, but it was like they were protecting me, putting themselves between me and some danger. What the fuck? Was someone attacking the building or something.

No one said anything, they just passed a lot of looks back and forth. All the guys just stood there around me for a minute, then two, it was so quiet I could hear my heart race. The elevator bell dinged, and the sound was so loud in the quiet room that it made me jump. I felt Ram and Bobby tense, then the swoosh of the doors opening and then Ranger stepped off and into the control room.


	19. Chapter 19

Acceptance- Chapter 19

_Ok, after a few chapters that didn't advance the plot, a lot happens here. Some angst. Please leave reviews, as I live for them._

Steph's POV

I sat in the middle of a band of Merry Men and watched as Ranger came off the elevator. I felt Bobby and Lester stiffen. I could barely see the elevator doors past the huge, black clad forms in front of me, but I saw Ranger's powerful body exuding confidence as he stepped off the elevator.

_What was he doing here? Granted , he owned the company, but he hadn't been here in months. And apparently this visit was unannounced. . Did Ranger know about Vince and I? Of course he knew, he fucking knew everything. Was he going to punish Vince for having a relationship with me? Would he fire us? Why did he come here when Vince was gone? Did he know Vince was gone? Had he timed it that way? _

I tried to control the racing of my heart. If I hadn't been in a chair, I would probably have fallen over. My breathing must have been loud in the quiet room since Bobby put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. Ranger just walked off the elevator and it seemed like time stood still, but it was only a few seconds until Tank walked up and greeted him, " Hey, Boss. Welcome back!"

Tank was polite when he greeted Ranger. Of course, Ranger was the boss, and most of the guys had a healthy respect for him. The room crackled with tension as Ranger and the guys faced each other for the first time in months. I really missed Vince about now, but I knew that the guys would stand by me. But I didn't know how much. After all, Ranger was their boss, too, and many of them were still friends with him, though I know they were all furious about the way he treated me. They wouldn't desert me. Bobby squared his shoulders, merely nodded and said, "Ranger." Lester, and Ram just gave him menacing looks. Even Zip, who was the youngest of the guys, only in his late 20s, wasn't intimidated by Ranger's presence. He stood with his arms crossed across his chest, and moved closer to my chair.

Ranger approached the massive wall of black surrounding me. Ram and Bobby moved slightly, but allowed him to approach me. I couldn't read his dark eyes, and hell, I could never read his face. His damn blankface was better than ever and he was even more devoid of emotions. I stood, and my knees wobbled a bit. There was really no reason to be afraid of him. It wasn't like he'd ever hurt me physically. And he wouldn't even be impolite to me with all the guys here, barely controlling their anger at him. He was just my boss, he had no power to hurt me emotionally. He no longer had that power. " Stephanie," Ranger said to me, nodding at me. Damn, I really didn't want to see him , ever again, but he was still my boss. I knew I should be polite to him. I tried to keep my voice from wavering as I said, " Hello, Ranger."

"I'm going to be here for at least a few weeks, checking in on the workings of the company here." Then he turned to Tank, " meeting in the conference room in one hour. All employees." As soon as he left the room I let out the breath I was unaware I had been holding. "Steph, I'd like to see you in my office, now."

Zip followed me, and waited outside like a sentry. Was he planning on barging in if he didn't like what Ranger had to say? Like, yell, and I'll send in the cavalry? I stood in Ranger's office, trying not to let him see my shaking knees. He could make things so bad for Vince and I. Ranger's dark eyes settled on me and stayed there for several moments. " You look good , Steph. How are you feeling?" Oh, right. The last time he'd seen me I'd been somewhat the worse for wear. "I'm fine Ranger." This was sounding like a conversation with my mother.

Like a blur he was before me and so close his breath was tickling my ear. His mouth bent down to mine, but just before his lips got to mine, I pulled away. " Ranger, how is Diane?"

"I don't want her. I want you." He moved towards me again, but stopped when I backed away. Ranger was a lot of things but I knew he'd never force me. He might just get persuasive.

I sat on the edge of his desk and took a deep breath. "Ranger , I loved you for years, even when you didn't want me to. I begged you to let me into your life, and you refused."

"My life doesn't lend itself to relationships," he said, as if that were an excuse.

" When you left me, I came apart. My world crumbled."

He looked a bit guilty at that. " I never meant to hurt you."

"But you did, badly. And I don't know what I would have done without the guys. They took care of me and put the pieces back together."

Ranger said, " Of course they did. They had orders to look after you."

"Fuck your orders,," I said. "They would have done it without your orders. They are the sweetest guys. All your guys were great but there were about six who really took care of me. They helped me put myself back together, helped me get strong again. But even though I was getting strong, I was still doing it to impress you. I thought if I could shoot better, or throw a knife, you would want me back again. My stupidity and recklessness almost got me killed. The guys were pissed at me, but they still took care of me. They got me through it."

Ranger's eyes were almost black, and I could tell he knew about Vince. "Ranger, all the guys took care of me, but Vince healed me. He gave me things I had never gotten before. He made me have confidence in myself. He doesn't play games, or let me play them. You didn't want all of me, but Vince does. Please let us be happy together.

Ranger did that damn blankface and I held my breath. He stared at me for the longest time, and I was close to passing out from not breathing. " You are both my employees. And Vince is, or was, my friend ." "I understand you are living in a house now compliments of Rangeman." Shit.

"Yes, and I love it."

Ranger was giving me that lion sizing up its prey look, and I saw his half smile.

I got angry, " What you didn't want me, but you don't want anyone else to have me either?"

Ranger came over and pinned me to the top of the desk, his lips touching my unmoving ones. "Oh, I've always wanted you. And I usually get what I want. "

Bobby's POV

Why did this shit always happen in the fucking middle of the night? Tank awoke me just after two am and I told him I needed to be the one to tell her. Shit. First Ranger returns, and now this. How the hell much does she have to endure? I knocked on the door of Steph's house, not wanting to break in and scare her. When there was no answer, I deactivated the alarm and picked the lock to get in. She looked so peaceful and innocent lying there asleep, her face relaxed , a slight smile, as if she were dreaming of something good. I was the bastard who was going to have to turn her good dream into a nightmare.

I shook her shoulder gently " Steph." I shook her harder. "Steph, wake up." After a third shake, she rolled over and one of her blue eyes opened. "Bobby?" " Steph, wake up honey." She rubbed her eyes. "Bobby? What time is it? What's going on?" She looked around quizzically and I saw the exact moment she figured it out, because the horror entered her eyes. " Oh, my God, something happened? Oh, God, something happened to Vince?" I would do anything to erase that tortured look on her face. "Bobby, Oh my God, what happened? Is he ,...d..d?" She couldn't even say the word. Her face was white as a sheet, and I grabbed her and sat next to her, cradling her against me.

" No honey, he's not dead. But we just got word that he was shot while covering an assault team and the bullet that penetrated his vest, and it's pretty bad. " She was as white as a ghost and hyperventilating , So I grabbed her head and put it between her legs. I kept my arm around her and crouched on the floor so she could see my face. " Breathe slowly, sweetie. Slow and deep."

"Where is he? I want to see him. I need to see him. He needs me." I stroked her hair. "I don't know where he is honey. They won't tell us where he was because his mission was Black Ops. But the military will fly him back here to the States as soon as they stabilize him enough to survive the trip. We'll go see him then."

Steph's POV

I felt a giant wave of nausea in my stomach and ran to the bathroom just in time to violently retch up what felt like everything inside of me . After I had emptied myself , I just sat there, leaning against the side of the tub, numb. My limbs felt too heavy to move. Bobby handed me a wet cloth for my face, but my arms didn't have the energy to take it from him, so he wiped my face and held a bottle of water with a straw so all I had to do was suck on it.

Bobby picked me up and carried me to the couch, and pulled a blanket around me, holding me against him in the darkness. I didn't want to talk. " Bobby, thanks for coming to tell me, but I just want to be alone now." He looked at me . " No." No? What the hell? " Bobby, I just want to be alone, " I said more firmly. "You aren't going to be alone," he insisted. He lifted my head with a finger under my chin. " Steph, you know I love you, all the guys do, and so we aren't going to leave you alone. But Vince is one of my best friends. Before he left, he asked me if I would take care of you, make sure you were ok while he was gone. I promised him I would. And yes, he's a soldier so he knew there was the possibility something like this could happen, and he wanted me taking care of you in case it did. So, no, I am not about to leave you alone. I love you and I love Vince too much for that."

In that moment the numbness wore off and my emotions came spilling out like water over a dam. I started to cry uncontrollably , and Bobby pulled me into his arms and cradled me against his chest, holding me tightly. His arms were strong and warm and comforting, his chest a soft pillow, but they weren't Vince's. More than anything I wanted to be in Vince's arms, my head resting on Vince's chest. I was crying hard, in great big gasping heaves. … Bobby's shirt was wet from my tears and covered with my snot, my hands were gripping his shirt tightly in my fists. . He didn't try to get me to stop crying , he just held me close , wrapped tightly in the blanket, stroking my back soothingly. I heard my own muffled voice, " He p-p-promised he'd be careful. He promised he would be ok. He p-p-promised me."

Bobby's POV

I held Steph tightly, wanting to comfort her, knowing that I couldn't. " He is careful honey. He doesn't take foolish risks. He survived two tours in Iraq by being lucky and careful. But sometimes you get shot even when you are being careful." She was crying so hard that she was shaking, but I didn't try to get her to stop, I let her get it all out. She just kept mumbling, " he promised he'd be careful. " He has to be ok. He has to." Shit.

"Honey, I have to tell you the truth. It's bad. There's a good chance that he might not make it. You need to be ready for that." She sobbed and gripped my shirt tighter as I said that. "But Vince is a big guy, he's healthy and strong. He can kick my ass. He can probably even kick Ranger's ass. So he's got a good chance. But either way, he's going to need you to be strong. Can you do that?" I felt her nod her head, even though the tears were still flowing. "You aren't going to be alone. I won't leave you."

I leaned back and pulled her next to me. She had cried herself out, and was just lying quietly in my arms. I hoped that if she just closed her eyes, the warmth of my arms and the soft night sounds would send her to sleep. My last thought before I drifted off was, Vince you bastard, you had better fucking make it through this.

*************************************************************************************

Steph and I went to the VA hospital in Trenton, where Vince had been transferred. He was critical in ICU As we approached his area, I heard a sound that made my stomach sink. I don't think Steph realized what was going on but from my medic training I recognized that single- tone high pitched wail coming from Vince's area, and the hurried movement of doctors and nurses into the area, the screen with the erratically gyrating green line. Dammit, Vince, I thought.

Then she realized what it meant, the frantic activity, the sudden jolt of his body as they shot the electricity through him, trying to get a normal heart rhythm, and she collapsed onto me sobbing hysterically. "Oh, God,. . , he's d-d-d-yy-ing." I held her to me, her head on my shoulder. I knew she wanted to hear me tell her that it would be ok, that Vince would be ok, but right now it wasn't looking good. She kept crying Vince's name as I held her tightly to me.

I carried Steph down the hall and around the corner, where she couldn't see or hear what was happening, and laid her down on my lap on a waiting room couch. I covered her shaking body with my jacket. I sat there, holding her as she sobbed pitifully against me, crying Vince's name over and over. I stroked her back and felt tears coming to my own eyes. I felt completely helpless, and I hated that feeling. I was helpless to save Vince, one of my closest friends, and I couldn't tell Steph what she so desperately wanted to hear.

I held her tightly, her sobs filling the quiet room. It had been twenty minutes since I brought her over here, and no one had come out to talk to us. That meant one of three things. Either they had gotten him back and were getting him stabilized and settled, or they were stubbornly still trying, or they had given up. I was hoping for the first one, but realized it was probably one of the last two. I was just about to leave Steph lying on the couch for a minute, while I went down to the ICU to check, when a doctor came into the waiting area.

"Are you here for Vince Sonterra?"


	20. Chapter 20

Acceptance- Chapter 20

Here it is. I didn't want to keep you hanging too long. I decided to go with the less angsty version.

Please leave feedback, as I live for it.

Acceptance- Chapter 20

"_Are you here for Vince Sonterra?"_

Steph's POV

I heard the unfamiliar voice and saw Bobby rise stiffly. I scrambled clumsily up to meet the doctor, both eager and scared to hear the words that were either going to make me thrilled or going to bring my world crashing down. My entire body was shaking so hard I could barely stand. Bobby stood behind me, supporting me, as he had been my support through this whole nightmare. I held my breath as Bobby's hand gripped mine.

" I am Dr. Burrows. Lt Col.. Sonterra received wounds from armour piercing bullets from a high caliber sniper rifle. The bullet penetrated within millimeters of his heart. He was flown here from overseas. Just after he arrived here, he went into cardiac arrest. It took about 5 minutes, but we were able to get his heart beating normally again. He survived that episode, probably because of his prime physical condition. We're working on getting him stabilized and settled. He is alive, but still in critical condition. We'll let you know when you can see him."

I felt a deafening rumbling in my head and my world spun. I saw the doctor's lips moving, but it was like slow motion, but I couldn't make out the words. The only word that registered in my mind was "survived." I felt my legs go weak, as if my body had decided it needed relief from the stress right then and there and I felt myself crumple. I heard Bobby say my name, his voice alarmed, and then my vision narrowed and went black.

I came awake on a small cot in a side room of the hospital. Bobby was taking my blood pressure and I had a cool cloth on my head. Crap. I had fainted. It took a moment for my mind to remember, then relief flooded through me as I remembered the doctor's words.I didn't know everything the doctor said, only that Vince would be ok! I smiled and started to sit up. Bobby's hand eased me back down. " Just rest for a minute, sweetie. Your body has been under a lot of stress, so just take it easy."

I watched as he took off the BP cuff and stowed it on a shelf. " Are you feeling better?", he asked. "Do you remember what the doc told us about Vince?" I slowly sat up. "The doc said that Vince is ok. He's going to be ok." Bobby gave me a crooked smile. " That's Steph, queen of denial-land." He sat down next to me on the gurney, and put his arm around my shoulders. " The doc said that Vince survived the immediate crisis of the cardiac arrest. That's good. But it doesn't mean he's going to be ok. Right now he's still critical. It can still go either way. But he's alive for now, and as soon as he is stabilized and settled they will probably let you see him. But he's going to need you to be strong for him."

Bobby squeezed my shoulders and hugged me to him. I burrowed my head in his shoulder for a moment, taking comfort in the strength he offered me. I remembered that he and Vince are good friends, so he must have been just as scared for Vince as I was. "Vince is lucky to have such a good friend. I know you must have been just as scared for him as I was , but you took care of me." Bobby gave me that crooked grin again, and I thought that if I wasn't so in love with Vince, I could see being with Bobby. He was sweet, strong, smart, and protective. Some woman was really going to be lucky to catch him. "Sweetie, you know all of us guys will be there for you. And I did promise Vince I'd take care of you." The grin disappeared, and serious, protective Bobby was back. "You need to prepare yourself for how he is going to look. If you haven't ever seen anyone in that condition, it can be upsetting. He isn't going to look the way he did when you last saw him."

"I don't care how bad he looks. He's alive and that's all that matters. You were all there for me when I was hurt, and I need to be there for him."

Zip and Ram were outside the ICU when Bobby and I came back from the vending area. Bobby had insisted I eat something before I saw Vince so I wouldn't pass out again. I was nauseous from the stress, but I managed to eat some crackers and half a bottle of water. Ram and Zip both hugged me, and I almost started crying again. Bobby went down the hall to see if he could get more information on Vince's condition. Ram squeezed my hand and said, and " Go see him, honey, we'll be right out here if you need anything."

I stepped gingerly up to Vince's ICU bed and had to fight the overwhelming urge to turn around and run right out again. Bobby had already seen him and warned me again about how bad he looked, but even with his warning, I almost wanted to bolt. Vince was always so strong and powerful, and now he looked so helpless and fragile. It hurt to see him that way.

I had never seen him, or anyone, so still. He was surrounded by machines. There was a tube in his mouth attached to a machine that hissed as it made his chest rise and fall. He had two IVs, delivering medications and nutrients to his body. I was comforted by the steady beeping of the heart monitor above his head, its green line now registering the normal rhythm of his heart. Wires from the heart monitor led to his chest, which was covered in bandages. His face was pale. There was also a bandage on his head and there was a BP cuff on one of his massive biceps. I shuddered when I saw the crash cart next to the bed, the defibrillator there a reminder of how close he had come to dying. I hoped it was just there as a precaution, not because the doctors thought he'd need it again. I went to him slowly and took his hand carefully, afraid to touch him in case I dislodged something or hurt him.

I took his huge hand, usually so powerful, now still and limp. "Vince?", I whispered, hearing the edge of tears in my voice. I swallowed the lump in my throat. I didn't know if he could hear me, but I did not want him to hear me crying. He hates when I cry. And I had to be strong. I leaned over him, and , in a steadier voice, whispered, " Vince?. Its Stephanie. You were hurt badly but you're going to be ok. You'll be ok. Just rest. I'll be right here." There was no indication that he had heard me. I wanted to kiss his face, but I couldn't get near his face because of the machines, so I kissed his hands instead. I dragged the lone chair sideways to his bed, so I could still hold his hand, and sat, watching his every breath, every bounce of the green line on the monitor

He was so weak and I felt so helpless. I wondered if this was how he and the guys had felt after I had been shot. If it was , I could understand why they had been so angry with me for making them feel so helpless and scared. The difference was that I had gotten shot because I had done something stupid and foolish , Vince had been shot being brave and strong. I rested my head on the bed, next to our clasped hands and the sounds of the machines lulled my exhausted body to sleep.

Bobby's POV

When the doctor came out to talk to us, I was scared. I knew Vince was in bad shape, and I was worried about what would happen to Steph if they hadn't gotten him back. The feeling of relief that I hadn't lost my friend was short lived because then, Steph had fainted, and I needed to worry about her.

I took her into a side room and laid her on a cot. There was a BP cuff on the shelf, so I took her BP, relieved to find it relatively normal, given the current conditions. She awoke and was so happy that Vince was going to be ok. Except she was hearing what she wanted to hear again. Vince had survived the arrest, but he was definitely not out of the woods. She had to realize that.

She had to be prepared for the shape he'd be in when she saw him. I knew how bad someone in that condition would look, and I didn't want her to faint again. She hadn't eaten since the night before, so I made her eat some crackers before she went in to see him.

Zip and Ram were waiting outside the ICU, their faces showing their concern for Vince. They covered their concern with "blankface" when they saw Steph. They didn't want to know how worried they were. I left Steph with them and went to the nurse's station to see if I could get more info on Vince's injuries.

We hadn't been told much, well, anything, really, about how Vince had gotten shot. The military wasn't exactly open with its information, and since this was a Black Ops mission, it never really officially existed. So getting details would be tough, if not impossible. Tank and the guys had been working on getting information since it happened. It just seemed odd that Vince had gotten shot. I mean, he wasn't on the assault team, but functioning as a sniper when it happened. Vince had survived two tours in Iraq and several dangerous reserves missions without getting hurt, and now it happens? It just seemed odd, and I wanted answers.

And where the hell was Ranger? Vince was his friend, or had been before he dumped Steph like that . I wondered if Ranger knew. Of course he knew, that guy knew everything. I wondered how long it would take him to come here. Hell, why wasn't he here now? Vince is one of his best guys. Part of me didn't want him to come , though, because I knew that would be hard on Steph, and she didn't need any other shit to deal with. I also wondered if anyone had notified Vince's family yet. They would want to know.

I took out my phone and dialed #2 to update Tank and the guys and to get some answers to my questions. Then, I went to the nurse's station to try to get more information about Vince's condition.

Steph's POV

I sat staring at Vince's still form lying on the bed. A couple of times, the nurse had come in to check him. I watched her carefully as she took his vitals and adjusted his IVs, but her face never let on anything, She did say that Vince wasn't allowed to have constant visitors in ICU. There were strictly limited visiting hours. But she stopped short of telling me to leave. Not that I would have. I wasn't leaving Vince alone. I was pretty sure the guys had made some sort of " arrangement" for the hospital staff to "look the other way" and allow me to stay with him.

The peacefulness and near silence of the room was interrupted by what seemed to be a disturbance at the door of the ICU. Before I could even register what was going on, two black clad forms appeared. Ranger strode across the room, flanked by Ram. Ram stayed in front of him, as if keeping himself between Ranger and I.

Shit. I wasn't prepared to deal with Ranger right now. I was barely holding it together for Vince, I couldn't take this now. I took a deep breath, garnering my nerve. If Vince were conscious, he'd tell me not to take any shit from Ranger, so I wasn't going to take any shit now. I owed it to Vince to stand up to Ranger. I wasn't about to leave , so I would have to put up with being here with Ranger.

Ram must have noticed the worried look on my face, because he crouched down next to me and whispered, " I tried to keep him out, but he has the right to be here. Do you want to go and I'll stay with Vince while Ranger's here?" See? The guys are so sweet. " No, I am not leaving Vince. I'll be ok with Ranger here." I saw a challenging look pass between Ram and Ranger. Then, Ram squeezed my shoulder and said, " Zip and I are right outside. Just yell if you need us." He shot another look that I couldn't quite interpret Ranger's way as he left the room.

Ranger's POV

I couldn't believe that MY MEN had given me so much shit. Tank tells me that Vince has been shot, then tries to delay me from coming so that Stephanie can come here and be with Vince first. Bobby has been sticking to her like fucking glue. Then, my men try to prevent me from seeing another of my men in the hospital. At least Vince hadn't been working on a Rangeman mission when he was shot.

I finally get here and Ram and Zip try to prevent me from coming in here since Stephanie is here. I swear, I never thought Zip, my youngest guy, would have the nerve to stand up to me like that. Then Ram follows me in here. I cannot believe this shit. They are all so damn protective of her. Is she sleeping with all of them now? I can't believe the change in my men. Ram is one of my toughest men. I have seen him torture terrorists and kill with his bare hands, yet he gets all soft and gentle with Steph. I know he doesn't want me alone with her. He crouches down and whispers something to her softly, and I feel angry at the intimacy they seem to share.

I look over at Vince and am amazed by how bad he looks. I met Bobby outside and he told me about how Vince had nearly died. Vince had been my friend. I told him those reserve missions he went on could be dangerous. You never knew what might happen. I didn't want him dead, but at the same time, he stood between me and what I wanted. With him out of commission, at least for awhile, I had a chance to take back what I wanted.


	21. Chapter 21

Acceptance- Chapter 21

Please leave reviews. I thrive on them.

Steph's POV

For several minutes, the room was completely silent except for the beeping of the monitors and the swishing of the respirator. I held Vince's hand tightly, taking comfort in the steady rise and fall of his chest . I stroked his limp hand and focused on him, trying to ignore the other person in the room. That's me, queen of denial. If I don't acknowledge it, it doesn't exist.

Ranger stood to the side , also watching Vince for a few moments. Then he walked up to the side of the bed, right next to me. " How is he, babe?" I bristled and the anger and frustration that had been welling up inside of me exploded out of me, an unstoppable force. ." Don't call me babe. I am not your babe. I was never your babe and I will never be your babe. And, as for Vince, he's alive, and he'll be fine." I squeezed his hand slightly when I said that, as if making sure that I imparted my will into him.

There were several more minutes of silence, during which I tried to calm myself. If it hadn't been that the man that I love was being kept alive by machines in this room, it would have been quite peaceful. I ignored Ranger, hoping he would take the hint and go away. Instead, I stroked Vince's face. I had been so terrified of losing him, now all I wanted to do was touch him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ranger watching my every movement with a scowl on his face.

Ranger had effectively trapped me between him and Vince's bed. Now he leaned over me. " Why do you want him? You can have me?" I didn't want Ranger, and I didn't want Vince to think that I did. I wasn't sure if Vince could hear me or not. I didn't want him to think I was dumping him. I wanted him to know I was here and I wanted him. I didn't want his unconscious mind to overhear Ranger and draw the wrong conclusion.

"Ram? Zip? I called, partly because I felt trapped by Ranger. Both of them came rushing in, saw where Ranger was standing, and gave him warning looks. " Is everything ok in here, Steph?" Zip looked around , puzzled. " Yes, but I need to talk to Ranger out in the hall. I don't want Vince to be alone. Can one of you stay with him?" Zip looked from me to Ranger and back again. " Um, sure, Steph, I'll sit with him if you want. Are you going to be ok?" he looked back and forth between Ranger and I. I loved the guys. They were so protective of me. I knew this was hard on them. They all cared about Vince and wanted to take care of me, but at the same time Ranger had been their friend and boss for years. Although none of them was feeling particularly friendly towards Ranger right now.

I went out into the hallway, just outside Vince's room. Ranger followed me outside, saying nothing. I noticed that Ram also left the room, keeping fairly close to Ranger and I, trying to give us privacy, but not wanting to leave me alone with him. Ranger took my arm and I allowed myself to be led a little way down the hallway.

" Why do you want to be with Vince when you can have me?", Ranger asked. " You know how good I am in bed. I always took care of you. How much do you know about Vince?," he asked. " I know he's a loving, caring guy." Ranger looked me straight in the eye. He doesn't really want you. He only wants the boss' woman. You are a conquest to him. He wants to get inside your pants."

"Oh, that is rich, coming from you. You spent five years wanting nothing but in my pants. I am not going to discuss my relationship with Vince with you. It is none of your business. I don't know what happened with Miami and why you are suddenly back here, and I don't care. I don't want to be involved with you anymore. If it means I have to quit Rangeman in order to be with Vince, then I will." I knew my face had reddened and my voice had gotten louder with anger as I spoke. He smiled a bit. He moved to within a couple of inches of my face, and I saw Ram, waiting at the end of the hallway, stiffen.

Ranger backed up until I was against the wall. " Oh, you don't have to quit Rangeman. The guys all like you and I like knowing where I can find you." His face was just an inch or so from mine. Ram had moved closer to us, watching me for a sign that I wanted him to intervene. I tried to give him a reassuring look. I didn't want any trouble, I just wanted to get back to Vince. And I was fairly sure Ranger would never physically force me to do anything, especially not with Ram there. Ranger's lips descended upon mine, briefly, a quick but familiar type of kiss. I just stood there, not returning the kiss, not responding at all to it. Ranger broke away, fixed Ram with a stare, and walked down the hallway.

Ranger's POV

What the fuck was going on here? When I left, the guys were protective of Steph, and that was good. But their response since my return had been ridiculous. They were trying to keep me away from her, like I was the bad guy. Didn't I tell tehm to take care of her? Didn't I continue letting her work at Rangeman, even pay for her duplex? Didn't I continue to let Vince work for rangeman , even though he was fucking Stephanie?

I came back because I had gotten tired of Diane and I'd heard about Steph and Vince. What can I say? I guess I didn't really want Steph until I heard about her and Vince. I still didn't want anything other than sex from her. I still don't want a relationship. But I don't want Vince or anyone else fucking her either. I didn't want anyone touching what was mine. I knew it was irrational, but I didn't care.

Vince was out of commission, at least for awhile. The timing was perfect. That gave me a chance to take back what was mine.

Lester's POV

The harder Tank, and I pushed to get details of Vince's accident, the harder we got stonewalled. True, it had been a Black Ops mission, not even officially existing, so there would be few if any written details. And what details there were would be classified Top Secret- Need to Know Only.

Tank and I stretched and Tank rubbed his bad head in frustration. Neither one of us usually needed to know details of something like this. We were both long term military. "Hurt on a mission" meant hurt on a mission No other information was needed. But for some reason, "hurt on the mission" just didn't cut it for this one. In the military, you follow your gut instincts or you may get killed. Bobby was suspicious, too. He was at the hospital, talking to the doctors to see if he could get any details about what had happened to Vince from them. He had called twice to give us medical updates, but no real information on what the hell had happened.

I had called on a few former acquaintances of mine, who might be able to get a hold of information that was supposed to be under the radar. So far, neither of them had come up with anything.

I was just about to head to the gym to work out some of this damn frustration, when my cell rang. I didn't recognize the number, so I picked it up cautiously. " Santos here." "Santos!" It was a former buddy of mine, Henry " Spider" Frikas. I hadn't seen him in years, but we kept in touch, mostly when one of us needed a favor from the other. He knew people who knew Black Ops. I had asked him to see what he could find out about Vince's accident.

Henry's deep voice interrupted my thoughts, " I got something on that Sonterra guy getting shot. I can't find out where it happened, but my source tells me that they were originally going to use another sniper on the mission, then suddenly they took out the team's regular sniper for no reason and added Sonterra. No word as to why. My guy was pissed because it delayed the mission three days to switch snipers. Plus, guys don't like going on dangerous missions with guys they don't know well."

Ok, well that was something. Apparently Vince had been a last minute replacement for another sniper on this mission. It wasn't much but it was something.

" Hey, thanks, man. I owe you, Spider."

" Damn straight you do. I'll be collecting."

I found Tank and Woody and told them what I had just found out. The more information we got, the weirder it got. The team had been planning this mission when suddenly they switch snipers with no explanation. Vince comes in and happens to get shot on the mission.

Woody said, " I don't like the way I'm thinking. But this switchout occurs on a mission Vince is called upon just a week before Ranger returns unexpectedly?"

The three of us just stared at each other. None of us liked what we were thinking, but we had to think it.

Tank bristled. " There is no way Vince's getting shot had anything to do with Ranger." We knew that logically, ut something wasn't quite right.

Steph's POV

" Thanks , Zip, for staying with him for me", I said as I entered Vince's room. " I know its probably silly, since he's unconscious and all, but I don't want him to ever think he's alone." I felt myself tearing up as I said this, and I was annoyed with myself for being so damn emotional. Zip saw my tears and hugged me tightly to his chest. Have I mentioned how good the guys feel when you are in their arms? Vince's arms feel the best to me, but all the guys have huge chests and powerful arms, and when they hold you , it feels like everything will be ok. It was amazing how much these bad ass guys hugged me and comforted me. I loved them all. Even Zip, who was four years younger than me, was protective as hell.

"No problem, honey, " Zip said, giving me a squeeze. "Remember, Vince is my friend , too. He saved my ass once when I almost got shot. We all want him to be ok." He looked over my shoulder at the doorway, " Did everything go ok with Ranger?" I just nodded. I didn't want to go into it.

Zip had just released me when the doctor came in again. We watched silently as he took Vince's vitals again. " His vitals are stable. We will probably try to take him off the respirator in a few hours and see how he does on his own." The doctor left. Zip tried to get mee to go take a break for awhile, but I didn't' want to.

When Zip finally left, I grasped Vince's hand again. His face was so pale. I stroked his hair and whispered, " Its ok. Ranger said hi. Don' t worry, Everything's fine. Just rest." I squeezed his hand, and it might have been my imagination, but for the first time, I thought I felt a tiny squeeze back.

"Um, Steph?" I heard the voice and I bolted upright. I had dozed off again. Apparently the guys had switched shifts and it was now Hal and Junior guarding the room. Hal came in now, followed by a fairly attractive middle aged man and a pretty woman. Both looked drawn and tired. " These are Vince's parents. Mr and Mrs. Sonterra , this is Stephanie Plum, she is Vince's girlfriend." Hal introduced us and left the room.

The woman walked up to me. " I am glad to meet you, Stephanie. Vince told us he was seeing someone new, but , well, you know how men are. They never get into details. I am glad he has had you with him."

I stood up shakily , and extended my hand. "Its good to meet you, Mr. And Mrs. Sonterra. Vince is doing better. They will take him off the respirator in a few hours."

Vince's mom walked to his bedside. "Please, call us Tony and Emily. "

I reluctantly left Vince's side and allowed his parents to have some time alone with him.


	22. Chapter 22

Acceptance- Chapter 22

Please leave reviews, as I thrive on them.

Steph's POV

I walked out of Vince's room so his parents could have some private time with him. I was glad not to have to talk to them yet. I am sure he hadn't told them about me, since we weren't really at the "meet my parents" stage yet. Its pretty awkward meeting them over Vince's banged up body after a nearly fatal accident. Not exactly Miss Manners' ideal circumstances for meeting your boyfriend's parents.

Outside the room, Hal, Zip, and Bobby were having a very quiet conversation, which stopped abruptly when Bobby looked up and saw me cross the threshold . The guys exchanged one of those damn looks. They were obviously talking about something they didn't want me to know about. I smiled tentatively. "Hey, guys, what's going on?"

Bobby took my hand, which was trembling from stress, lack of food, and my encounter with Ranger. "Nothing, sweetie, just some work stuff. Nothing to worry about." He put his arm around me. "Vince's parents are in with him. Why don't you come down and get something to eat with me. All you had was crackers, and I don't want you passing out again." I just nodded. After all the stress of Vince getting shot, then Ranger getting all assertive, then Vince's parents coming, I was totally exhausted. My body would barely follow my mind's commands. I was afraid to leave Vince alone. I looked back at Zip and Hal. " If Vince's parents leave before I get back, will one of you two go and sit with him? I don't want him to be alone." Zip smiled and promised they wouldn't leave Vince alone. I couldn't really think, so I let Bobby lead me into the elevator and across the street to a diner that he said had much better food than the hospital cafeteria.

I ordered a burger and fries, but I didn't really feel like eating. "Bobby, did they tell you anything else about his condition?" I knew he would be able to get info I couldn't. Rangemen were good at that . His deep brown eyes looked straight into mine. "Just what they told you, sweetie. The bullet hit a lung and lodged close to the heart. His vitals are better and he is more stable, so they are going to wean him off the ventilator later today." I looked at him doubtfully, pretty sure there was something he wasn't telling me. He caught the look. "Steph, I have been honest with you since the beginning of this. I will continue to be honest about Vince's condition. He is still critical, but he is improving and, barring any complications, he should recover."

That reassured me, and I finally found enough of an appetite to finish half the burger.

Bobby's POV

I had been briefing Hal and Zip about the information I had received from Lester about how Vince had gotten shot. The few details we had were looking more and more confusing and we were suspecting that Ranger was somehow involved with Vince's getting hurt. We had all agreed that Steph wasn't to know any of this until we had more solid information to give her. No sense giving her another uncertain situation to worry about. But we were all more wary than ever about Ranger's sudden return and agreed that we would try to keep him from her as much as possible.

I killed the conversation abruptly when Steph walked out of the room. I knew she had dozed off for awhile, but she really still really looked tired and shaky. Apparently, Ranger's visit had upset her, although she had refused to tell Zip anything when he pressed for details.

I told her what I knew about Vince's condition, and she seemed relieved. Good. Whatever makes her eat. I definitely didn't want her to pass out again.

I was trying not to think about Ranger. I didn't want to think about him at all. "Sweetie, how did it go with Ranger? Did he tell you why he came back now?" I was instantly sorry that I had brought up Ranger's name. Steph tensed and stopped eating, pushing the plate away. Her eyes welled up with tears. " I don't know why he came back. I guess he found out I was with Vince, and decided that if he couldn't have me, no one else could either. " I reached over and hugged her. " He says he wants me now. And there was a time when I would have been so happy to hear that. But that was before I got to know Vince. Now I only want Vince. I think I love him." The tears welled out of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Shit. " What can he do? Can he fire Vince? I told him I'd quit if Vince and I dating is a problem." She broke down and hid her face in my shoulder. " I'm sorry, Bobby, I am so emotional lately. I am always crying on you." I held her for a moment until she got control f herself. " Sweetie, you have been under a lot of pressure lately. Its ok. "

The truth was that Ranger could cause a lot of damage. He was my friend, but he could also be ruthless, especially about things he considers his. He'd never wanted Steph before, but now that she was Vince's, Ranger wanted her. Like the kid who didn't want to play with the toy, but didn't want anyone else playing with it , either. He could make life difficult for both of them. In fact, it was very possible that Ranger was involved in Vince getting shot. I knew he wouldn't let up on Steph. Vince's recovery would take a long time, and Steph would be vulnerable. I squeezed her to me for a moment. I knew the guys would try to run interference for her. I had promised Vince I'd take care of her.

"Its ok, sweetie, you aren't alone. We'll take care of you." Steph wiped her eyes. " Bobby, what if he fires you guys for helping me? I don't want anyone to lose their jobs." She had a good point, Ranger could just fire any of us if he wanted to. " He won't fire any of us, sweetie. He might threaten to, but he knows that we are Rangeman Trenton and without the quality of guys he has working for him, the company would collapse. And he wouldn't fire me because he couldn't find anyone else who was as good s aoldier and a good medic. Don't worry about us." Besides, we were all about ready to kick his ass.

If Ranger was smart, he'd be worried. He'd do best not to piss us off. Boss or no boss, I wasn't going to tolerate him poaching on Vince's turf. Not after how much he had hurt Steph.

I insisted that Steph finish the burger, then we walked back to the hospital. And ran right into a pissed off Ranger.

Steph's POV

Ranger was waiting outside Vince's room, his face blank, but emanating anger. Bobby locked eyes with him, and stepped closer to me, his arm protectively around my shoulders. " What, are you fucking all my men, now?" Bobby stepped in front of me, his body tense, his eyes doing the testosterone thing with Ranger, his hands flexing. Shit. I did not want a fight here.

"Ranger, don't be rude. You know I am only with Vince. " Ranger's dark eyes bored into mine. " I want to talk to Stephanie, " he said dismissively to Bobby. Bobby didn't look at him, but looked at me, letting Ranger know that I was in control. I didn't really want to talk to Ranger, but I knew that he wouldn't go away, and Bobby would intervene to protect me, and then it'd be ugly. Bobby was pretty big, not as big as Vince, and I am pretty sure if Bobby and Ranger went at it, they'd both get really fucked up.

I made eye contact with Bobby and smiled, letting him know I would talk to Ranger. Bobby looked Ranger squarely in the eye. "Hal and I will be right down the hall." I took a few steps away, towards the couch Bobby had taken me to earlier. Ragner followed me. " I thought you left, Ranger."

Ranger sat close to me, doing that close proximity thing he was so good at. I looked at him. He was physically handsome, but there was no attraction anymore. " Are you fucking Bobby, too?" I reached out, wanting to smack him, but stopped myself just in time. I was pretty sure he wouldn't retaliate, but I wasn't taking any chances. " Bobby and all the guys have been sweet and helpful to me since you left. Bobby promised Vince he'd take care of me, and he has. "

Ranger's eyes bored into me. " Look, I decided I want you. You were in love with me, so you should be thrilled. " I took a deep breath, trying to calm the rolling of my stomach. "Ranger, the key word there is "were." I did love you at one time. I don't anymore. I never will again. I love Vince now. You should just be with Diana."

"How well do you know Vince? Did you know he is a klller?" I stared at him, incredulous. I couldn't believe he was going there. "He's not a killer."

"Sure he is. He's a sniper. That's what they do. They kill. Have you ever asked him how many?"

Ranger was trying to play with my mind. I knew Vince had killed people. Most of the guys had. That was what happened during wars.

"Yes, Ranger, I know he is a sniper. I know he has killed people. He was in a war. I've never asked him how many, and it really doesn't matter. I know he's never killed anyone who didn't deserve it. He doesn't take killing lightly. I am glad he killed people before they could kill him. That's how he survived. But he is a good man, and he's strong and gentle. " By now, I was angry and almost yelling at him.

"Besides, you are one to talk. You have killed people. And not just in wars."

" Look, Ranger, I am sorry that you have decided that you want me now. I have moved on. You should , too." How I got the balls to say that to him, I'll never know.

I walked past him, and he didn't move to stop me. I nodded my head to Bobby's questioning look, unable to speak for the tears in my throat.

An hour later, they had taken Vince off the respirator. Now the large tube was gone from his mouth and I could get near his face. He looked less helpless with the giant tube gone, even though he still had the heart monitor and the IVs. I stroked his hair and kissed his cheek. The nurse said he was breathing fine on his own. His parents had gone to check into the hotel and get some rest, so the room was quiet now.

Woody's POV

Getting info on Black Ops was like trying to claw through a brick wall with your fingernails. Everything on a Black Ops mission was top secret and none of it existed officially. But that doesn't mean that guys don't still talk. No, not about the important mission details, talking about those can get someone killed. But sometimes they talked about the unimportant stuff. Soldiers sometimes gossip, too, and there is a grapevine. Its just really hard to unearth. Things do get around.

Lester's friend Snake told us that Vince had been substituted at the last minute for the assault team, but no one knew why or how. Vince usually worked with a completely different team, and on missions like this, they didn't usually mix guys up. Teams practiced together, knew each other , and went into dangerous situations with guys who they knew they can trust with their lives.

Snake's team had been pissed that the sniper they knew was yanked at the last minute, and one they didn't know was substituted.

Tank, Lester, and I were talking to all our contacts in the military trying to see how much info we could get 'unofficially." We'd all done Black Ops, we all knew people.

My old ARMY buddy, Jonas, was now the aide to the officer who usually did logistics on these missions, and I was hoping he'd be able to dig up information for me about why Vince got switched.

"Yo, Woody. This is all off the record, ok? And I did not tell you. Apparently, General McCrone got a call from one of the civilian consultants who helped plan this mission. I don't know where it was specifically, but it was somewhere in the Middle East. This consultant guy is apparently some ex-Special Forces bigshot who has some kind of security/consulting firm now. He'd have to have a top Secret or above clearance to know anything about the mission."

Shit. I could feel my body go rigid with anger. I had a feeling I knew what was coming next. That fucker.

" So this consultant guy tells the general that the sniper scheduled for the mission was having some substance abuse issues and shouldn't be on the mission. He has all these records of a drug arrest for the sniper. The general was pissed, because not having a sniper would delay the mission indefinitely.

"The consultant guy says he can vouche for another sniper, Sonterra, from another team. Sonterra's team was not on an active mission so he would be available to be called up. He had all this info on how Sonterra was like the best sniper ever, and convinced the general to call him in on the mission. The team was still a bit delayed on the mission, because SOnterra had to be called in from the States."

Goddamn, that bastard Ranger. "Shit. I know who the consultant guy is. Did you get any info on how Sonterra actually got shot?"

I knew Ranger didn't do that, since he'd been here in Trenton when it happened. Or maybe he hadn't. I wasn't exactly sure of the timing, since Black Ops was so damn secretive.

"Nah, man, that's all I got. You know how fucking hard it was to get that? You owe me, you asshole."

Forty minutes later, Tank, Zip, Ram, Lester , Bobby, and I gathered around the conference room table. Bobby and Lester had come in from the field, leaving Hal and Junior at the hospital with Steph and Vince.

Tank took control of the meeting. " Bobby, any update on Vince and Steph?"

"Well, Vince is off the ventilator and holding his own without it, so that's improvement. Steph is shaky and exhausted and stressed, but holding up. Ranger had been hounding her constantly. She's holding together, but I am worried about her."

Lester shared the info that Snake had given him. Then I shared my conversation with Jonas. "The civilian consultant has to be Ranger," Lester concluded after I had finished my report. "He has the contacts in the military, and it makes sense he'd want to get Vince away before he came back to move in on Steph."

I looked around and saw that the others were feeling the same as I was, pissed, angry , and disbelieving. We all sat there for a few minutes, seething. Ranger had been our friend, Vince's friend, for years. We couldn't believe he'd be involved in this.

Tank broke the silence. He had been Ranger's friend the longest, and was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. The rest of us weren't being so generous.

"Look, we have no proof of this, and we never will, since I am sure there is nothing in writing. Rumors and heresay run rampant in the military, too, even Black Ops. This could be all heresay."

Lester gave Tank a look and rolled his eyes. Brave guy, in this mood, Tank just might beat the shit out of him.

"Even if it is just rumor, I think it gives us a strong enough suspicion to follow up on it," I said.

We all looked back and forth at each other. The tense silence in the room was so thick, it could be cut with a knife. We all knew what we needed to do. All of us badasses were looking a bit scared. Shit. I was scared. Even Tank looked scared. We were going to have to confront Ranger about this.


	23. Chapter 23

Acceptance – Chapter 23

Please leave reviews, as I really enjoy reading them.

Bobby's POV

All of us are exhausted, between staying with Vince, taking care of Steph, cutting through all the damn secrecy and red tape to find out what the hell had happened to Vince, keeping Ranger away from Steph, and , of course, the usual monitoring and servicing of Rangeman accounts. I had gotten very little sleep in the past few days, but that was something I was used to in the military. I was a medic and a soldier, and sometimes being a medic meant staying up all night to monitor or treat your patient. And, well, sometimes soldiers had to be up all night because they might get killed if they weren't.

I had promised Vince before he left that I would take care of Steph, and I have been. Vince is one of my best friends, and , well, we all love Steph. This has been such a strain on her, first Vince leaving, then his getting shot, then Ranger returning. She has been sleeping at the hospital for days now on a cramped little cot, waking up every few hours. I know, because, for the most part, I have been there with her. She hasn't eaten much and is shaky. Vince seems to be doing better, but Ranger hasn't let up on her. She hasn't left Vince's side for more than a couple hours at a time since this happened. I have been very worried about her physically and emotionally.

I finally convinced her to let me take her back to her duplex so she can get some real sleep in her own bed. I had to ensure that Vince's parents would be with him all night and that Hal and Junior would be outside the door. She made them all promise not to leave Vince alone. I finally got her to her place and into bed. I gave her an Ambien , so that she would sleep through the night, and I stayed with her until she fell asleep. Zip is there now, in the front room, in case she needs anything.

Tank has called a meeting with all of us main guys and Ranger, supposedly to " review the cases" that have gone on since Ranger left several months ago. But really, we are going to confront him with what we know about Vince getting hurt. We weren't sure the best way to confront Ranger about it. Tank didn't want to do it by himself, so we are going to have us main guys confront him about it. If he played a part in Vince getting hurt, I doubt he will admit it, but at least he'll know that we know.

I took a deep breath as Ranger walked into the room, and I noticed that Tank, Lester, Ram, and Woody were looking a little nervous, too. Ranger walked in with his stone face on. He is brisk, as he usually is in business matters. " Report on accounts."

Tank starts to go through and report on the current accounts. None of them are having any problems, Tank has done a great job managing them while Ranger was away. Recently, that has been a chore with everything else going on. So far, the meeting had gone well, but now came the sensitive part.

'Vince got hurt on his mission. And we are trying to get as much information as we can, for his parents and Stephanie. "

Ranger said, " His mission was Black Ops, so you won't get anything official, because officially it didn't exist. Steph and the Sonterras should understand that. You'll probably never get anything."

Tank looked at Woody, and Woody took over. " Yeah, but you know how gossipy even Black Ops guys can be. We were able to get some information." Ranger looked surprised at this, but not worried. " Lester and I have some contacts that know people that know people. We found out that Vince's unit wasn't scheduled for a deployment at the time that he went. "

"That isn't unusual, units deploy unexpectedly all the time, " Ranger explained placatingly, as if we were five year olds who had never been in the military ourselves. Asshole.

Lester finally spoke up. " Well, we learned that a different team was to go into that mission , but at the last minute their sniper was switched."

Ranger still looked nonplussed, as if he figured we had no way of knowing what went on. " That isn't uncommon, either. Someone gets ill, or for some reason becomes unable to go on the mission, and someone else is substituted. It happens a lot. You guys should accept that you will probably never know what happened to VInce."

The guys looked at Ram, I guess it was his turn. " Well, what we are getting from our sources is that the sniper for that team was already cleared and ready to go, when they took him out at the last minute. Pissed off the team because it delayed their mission several days."

I cringed at this part, but I had to say it. We were all pissed that Ranger might be involved in this, and we were going to find out the truth. " We found out that some civilian " security expert" had helped plan the mission. The reason the original sniper got pulled from the team, was that his general got a call from this of ex-military civilian security consultant, who now runs a security firm. The consultant had information that this sniper was not mentally fit for the mission, and he actually suggested another sniper he knew, named Vince Sonterra, take his place." Ranger's face remained completely impassive throughout this entire recital. I was impressed. I am good at impassivity, but Ranger is the best. Cold as a glacier.

There was complete silence in the room. Not the complete silence that we are used to, but the uncomfortable, awkward kind of complete silence, where everyone is afraid to say anything. Then, Tank spoke up. " And if this is true, and the timing of Vince being called up right before you got here, and then you wanting Steph back, well, it makes us sort of wonder if…" Tank's voice tapered off. It was unusual for him to be intimidated by talking to Ranger about anything.

There was more of that total silence in the room as Ranger's hard gaze moved from one to the other of us in the room, staring each of us in the eyes, daring us to flinch. We all met his gaze unflinchingly. We weren't going to let him intimidate us.

Ranger finally spoke in a deathly quiet voice. " So you think that I had the power to simply make a phone call and alter a top secret Black Ops mission, having the team's usual sniper replaced by Vince on a day's notice? And I did this so that I could come back and take Steph while Vince was gone? " Well, yeah, that about summed it up.

He looked at us all with a smirk. " If you think I have that kind of power, then you'd be smart not to defy me or get in my way. I get pissed when things get in the way of what I want. And if you think I can do that, then you don't want me pissed. "

He rose smoothly and left the room.

All of us let out the collective breath we didn't even realize that we'd been holding. Ram spoke first. " Damn, that was scary. He didn't exactly admit it, but he didn't deny it either. He certainly wants us to think he did it. He wants us scared to get in his way. "

I was seeing a new side to the man I had known for years. That of a cold, ruthless bastard. " I believe we got a warning that we'd better stay out of the way of him getting what he wants. And what he wants now is Steph. Shit. She and Vince are both in danger. "

Woody and Ram would fill in the other guys about what happened at this meeting. Tank, Ram, Lester, Woody, and I weren't scared by Ranger's veiled threats. We were going to keep protecting Steph and Vince. Hell, we all knew that if it was one of us lying in the hospital, Vince would defy Ranger to protect us. That's the kind of guy Vince is. But the other guys should know about it so they could make the choice. I knew that they would all chose to protect Vince and Steph as we have been, but I would let that decision be theirs.

I had to clarify one thing, " Lets not tell Steph what we suspect, and what we just about had Ranger confirm here. She is barely holding on, and I don't want to give her anything else to worry about. Its bad enough he's all over her. Lets be especially careful to keep him away from her."

Steph's POV

I stretched, taking up the entire queen sized bed. Hey, this wasn't the cot at the hospital. Where was I? I was actually comfortable, and well rested. I opened my eyes to see sunlight streaming through the cracks in the blinds, and I was in my own bed in my own place, dressed in one of Vince's huge t shirts. I vaguely remembered Bobby practically dragging me out of the hospital, and me falling asleep in the car. He had carried me in here, helped me undress, and tucked me in. He made me take a pill so I could sleep. It worked great, I felt well rested.

The clock on the bedside table said "9:42." I stretched again and luxuriated in the comfort for a moment, then crawled out of bed. I looked down at my t shirt, knowing that Bobby had probably left someone in my living room, and I wanted to make sure I was decent. The t shirt covered me to me knees. I ran across to the bathroom, took care of my needs and showered quickly. I hadn't showered in days, and I bet my smell was part of the reason Bobby had dragged me back here.

I tamed my hair as best I could, pulled on some sweatpants with the tshirt, and followed the tantalizing smell of food out to the kitchen. Zip was sitting on my living room couch in his Rangeman uniform, now wrinkled, because he had slept in it. I bet he had even slept with his gun on. The tv was on, but the volume so low I didn't know how he could even hear it.

" Hey, sweetie, you look better today." He got up as soon as he saw me and led me to the kitchen, where Ella had left a decadent breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast and juice. He gave me a hug. "Bobby gave me orders that I was to let you sleep as late as you wanted, then make sure you eat all of this breakfast, then call him and he'd take you back to the hospital." He poured me some coffee, pulled out the dining room chair, and sat next to me. I grimaced,." I hate to tell you this, but there is no way I can eat all this."

Oh, God, this was heavenly. Ella was a goddess. I heard myself moaning in ecstasy at the deliciousness of the food, and Zip got a weird look on his face. " You spent the night on my couch? You didn't need to do that., Rangeman is only two blocks away. I could have called if I needed something." Now I felt bad. The guys were so sweet and taking care of me, but he didn't need to stay on my couch.

Zip smiled. Have I mentioned how gorgeous all the guys are when they smile. I don't know how Ranger finds them. " Sweetie, I didn't mind. I've slept in way less comfortable places." I was eating quickly, because I was in a hurry to get back to Vince.

" And you don't have to rush through your food. I called Vince' parents an hour ago, and they said he had a restful night and they'll stay with him as long as you need them to." I knew they would, but I wanted to be there myself. "They also said that the doctor who checked on him last night said he is showing signs of coming around, so that could happen soon." I hugged Zip again, because I was so happy to hear that. I slowed down eating and enjoyed the heavenly food. Then, I remembered Ranger. I didn't want to face him, and he might be at the hospital.

Zip looked at me again, knowing what I was thinking. Damn. Did ALL the Merry men have ESP? "Sweetie, right now Ranger is at the office. If he leaves there, whoever is at the hospital will be warned." He took my hand and squeezed it gently. " Don't worry. It'll be ok."

I looked down, surprised to notice that I had eaten the entire huge breakfast. I went to change while Zip called Bobby to let him know I was ready to go to the hospital.

I couldn't wait to see Vince.


	24. Chapter 24

Acceptance- Chapter 24

Please leave feedback, as I live for it.

Steph's POV

Zip drove me to the hospital, where I was surrounded by a wall of black. Hal and Bobby were outside Vince's door. Bobby hugged me. " You look much better, sweetie. You look like you slept the whole night." Bobby looked tired, though. I hugged him back. " You have been so busy taking care of Vince and I, you are exhausted. I promise not to leave the room without Hal if you promise to get some sleep. Real sleep in a bed." He gave me his gorgeous grin. " Deal. I'll call Woody and have him come here with Hal and I will go back to Rangeman and sleep. I'll see you later. He hugged me again and left. He had taken such care of me, I was glad to be able to take care of him for once.

Hal told me, " Go ahead in and be with Vince. His parents have been with him all night. Don't worry. We have someone on Ranger. If he comes, we'll have advance notice." I went into Vince's room and saw his parents sitting on either side of his bed. His mother , Emily, stood up and hugged me when she saw me come in. "Stephanie, its good to see you again. You look much better." I hugged her back, trying not to let on how much awkwardness I felt. " Bobby gave me an Ambien and a big breakfast." Emily smiled again. She was in her fifties, but she looked ten years younger. I could definitely tell where Vince got his coloring. " Vince is lucky to have such good friends."

Vince's dad, Tony, came over and his massive hand took mine. He was as big as Vince. He spoke quietly. " This must be difficult for you. I was in the military for over 20 years, most of it Special Forces, so I understand Vince's desire to be in the Reserves. But I know how hard that lifestyle was on Em, here, and I am sure this is hard on you." Emily looked at him and smiled. It was evident they still loved each other after all these years. " Luckily, Tony never got hurt this badly, but the doctor said Vince should be coming around soon. So hopefully the worst is over."

I followed Emily over to Vince's side. " The doctor who came in last night said he should come around sometime today, and he's been twitching a bit. "Emily yawned. "Well, Stephanie, now that you are here, we are going to go back to the hotel. Please call us when he wakes up. " She hugged me again and then she and Tony walked out the door.

I stroked Vince's face and whispered, " Vince, its Steph. I'm back. " Then, I just sat there holding his hand.

Woody's POV

I had just arrived at the hospital, and saw the Sonterras leaving as I was walking in. I've never actually met them, but they must have recognized the black uniform, because they stopped me right away. Tony Sonterra is not a guy that you can ignore. I can tell where Vince got his ability to intimidate the shit out of someone. He got it from his dad. " Have you gotten any details about what happened?, " his mother asked. I exchanged a look with Tony. " Well, Mrs. Sonterra, ma'am, Vince was on a Black Ops mission, so there is little chance we will find out more than we already know about what happened." There was no way in hell I was telling Vince's parents our suspicions about Ranger's involvement in Vince's injury. I was pretty sure that Mr. Sonterra would go after Ranger and kick his ass. If anyone got to kick Ranger's ass, it should be Vince or Steph. The Sonterras left to go back to their hotel, and I went up to the ICU to help Hal with Vince and Steph.

Hal was standing at parade rest just outside Vince's door. " Steph just went in there with him a few minutes ago. We had debated how much to tell Steph about our suspicions. I didn't want her any MORE stressed, but at the same time, she needed to have some idea of what was going on. She needed to know just how dangerous Ranger could be. To be honest, I was a little scared of him myself. He was right- if he has enough clout to just make a few phone calls and get a whole mission reassembled and Vince sent in and do it totally in secret, then he is a very dangerous guy. And if he wasn't above hurting an old friend, then he wouldn't be above hurting Steph.

Rangers's POV

"Goddamnit!" How the fuck were my guys able to find out so much about Vince's deployment? This was supposed to be top secret Black Ops, nothing officially existed. But even Special Forces guys gossip like a bunch of fucking old women. And my guys had all been in the military long enough to have plenty of connections. They obviously don't have as much clout as I do. If they did, they'd know everything by now.

I was sure I could win Stephanie over and get her back in my bed. But not if she knew my role in getting Vince deployed. I didn't know how much the guys had told her, but the less she knew the better. I got on the phone to General McCrone to make sure that my tracks were covered and no one could verify that it was me who got Vince sent away. See how connected I am? I can get a three star general on the phone just like that. I made a couple of other phone calls, all to untraceable numbers, to cover the rest of my tracks. I knew how to move all over the globe, leaving no trace, so there weren't many tracks to cover.

I grabbed my stuff and headed to the hospital. With Vince out of the picture, I knew I could wear Steph down.

Vince's POV

_We were pulling out, leaving the mission. All my guys were out, I was covering the rear with my sniper rifle. I felt the stinging and then the pain in my chest. It was so odd that the noise came from behind. All I could think was, Steph is going to kill me. I promised her I'd be careful. Before I lost consciousness I saw a man on a building about 30 yards away carrying an American made rifle._

_Ok, I am obviously not dead. Am I? I don't think it hurts after you are dead. My brain was working, so I am alive, but I hurt like hell. My chest felt like it was on fire and it hurt to breathe. My head ached. I was so goddamn weak. Shit. I was captured. The Afghanis had me. Fuck. If I had been captured I was fucked. I might be begging for death soon if the Afghanis had captured me after they shot me. I had been in the military a long time so I knew how well they could torture. And since I didn't have any information to give them, they'd then kill me._

_I stayed completely still so they wouldn't know I was alive. I listened as intently as I could, but I was in a very quiet place. I didn't hear any voices, just a continuous, steady beeping sound. I need to stay completely still so they don't know I am alive. My arms don't feel like they are bound, but there is something over my mouth, probably a gag. I try to keep my heart from racing. I was in such a quiet place, just the beeping, which had become faster. I lay completely still, barely letting myself breathe, but I didn't hear any voices. Maybe they had left me alone for a few moments. _

_I slowly worked one eye open just a slit, afraid to move my head in case one of them sees me. The room was comfortable and the lights dim. White walls, sterile, like a hospital. They are making me well before they torture me? Sick fucking Afghani bastards. Some medical equipment next to the bed, some wires and tubes are attached to me. Wait. That is modern equipment. The hospital is clean. An Afghani hospital would have old stuff. Ok, if I was in an American hospital, or one anywhere in Europe, I was safe.. I carefully open the other eye and slowly turned my head._

I realized that the thing blocking my face was an oxygen mask, the beeping was my own heart registering on a heart monitor. Dark brown pieces of hair tickle my cheek, Stephanie's hair. Her head is resting against the side of the bed, she is asleep in a chair. She is gripping my hand fiercely, even in her sleep. I feel like shit, but I squeeze her hand. She is going to be so pissed that I got shot. I squeeze her hand again, and she stirs, and then her eyes open. I can tell the exact second that she looks at my face and realizes that my eyes are mostly open because she jumps up and a huge grin covers her face.

"Vince, you're awake," she squeals, and kisses my face.


	25. Chapter 25

Acceptance- Chapter 25

Yes, I am aware that some of the medical protocols in this chapter are not correct, but that is called poetic license. Please don't kill me, it will all work out in the end. Please leave feedback, as I live for it.

Steph's POV

I couldn't let go of Vince's hand, I was so thrilled that he was finally awake. His dark brown eyes didn't leave mine, and he squeezed mine back, but I knew he was in a lot of pain. I called a nurse in and watched intently as she checked his vitals and his IV. I left the room briefly while he was examined to notify his parents that he was awake. I stood just outside his door, and as I was finishing the conversation, Woody came up to me.

I was so excited that I was practically bouncing. " Woody, he just woke up, He just opened his eyes." I grabbed him and hugged him in my excitement. He hugged me back , but he didn't look happy, like I expected him to. He looked a bit worried. " Steph, that's great. But we have a problem. We were just notified that Ranger just left Rangeman and is heading for the hospital . " He looked like he wanted to say something else, but stopped himself. He looked uncertain, and that is not a look I am used to seeing on Rangemen.

Ok, Ranger was coming. I could handle that. But I didn't want him talking to Vince. Not yet. I wasn' t sure how much Vince could talk just yet, and I knew he was in a lot of pain. I wasn't about to let Ranger or anyone else interrupt his recovery. I must have had a panicked look on my face, because Woody said, " Don't worry, Steph. We aren't going to let him harass you or Vince."

Woody's POV

Shit. Ranger was on his way here and Vince had just woken up. Ranger was going to want to see Vince, and we couldn't have that until both Steph and Vince knew what was happening. Or at least as much as we knew. We were going to have to tell them about Ranger's involvement in the situation. Fuck. I was relieved when Bobby and Lester showed up. Bobby hadn't really gotten a whole lot of sleep, but I knew he'd come here as soon as he heard that Vince was awake.

"Hey, Woody. They called that Vince is awake. I'm going to go check on him." Shit. " Wait, man, we have a bigger problem. Ranger is on his way here. He's going to want to talk to Steph and Vince. I don't think she should talk to him until she knows. " Bobby sighed. " Shit." He looked at Steph inside Vince's room, then back at me. " Ok, should probably be the one to tell her." I felt for Bobby but I was glad as shit that I wasn't the one who had to tell her. I would stay with Vince while Lester ran interference with Ranger.

Bobby's POV

Vince looked much better than the last time I'd seen him. He was in a lot of pain, and he had a lot of healing to do, but for the first time I actually believed he would make it. " Hey, man," I said, and clapped his shoulder. He couldn't really talk because of the O2 mask, but he looked happy to see me. " Don't worry about Steph , Vince, I am taking good care of her, just like I promised." He nodded and closed his eyes again. I took a minute to check his IV and glance at his monitors.

"Steph, Come on out here with me for a minute. Woody will stay with Vince," I said, anticipating her reaction. I led her out of the room, down the hall to the familiar little couch and made her sit. Right away she was wary. " Bobby, you guys have all been acting really weird. Is something going on with Vince that I should know about?"

"Not with Vince," I told her. I sat and took her hand. I had to do this pretty quickly. " Sweetie, there is some stuff you need to know. " She was looking at me with such trusting eyes. Shit. "You know that Vince got injured on a Black Ops mission, so there really are no official details about what happened." She nodded. "" I understand that."

" But me and the guys, we have all been in the military a long time, and we know people, so we did get some unofficial information, just, well, you know, even Black Ops guys talk. It turns out that Vince wasn't originally scheduled to go on that mission. Another team was. But at the last minute, the sniper from that other team was deemed unfit to go, and Vince was substituted." She nodded. So far, ok, but this is where it got tough. " We are hearing from our sources that Vince was put in because the general who ran the mission got a call from a former ARMY Ranger who helped him plan it, a guy who owns a security company now. This former Ranger said that the sniper was unfit for duty, and he knew another sniper, named Vince Sonterra, who was really good and could be substituted."

I paused for a minute to let Steph put the pieces together, and I saw it in her eyes the moment she did. She looked puzzled, then her eyes widened. " An ex-Ranger? " She paused another moment, and I could feel the tension in her body. " OUR Ranger? I simply nodded. Her whole body stiffened, and her voice rose, almost hysterical. "Our Ranger is responsible for getting Vince sent on this mission?" I nodded. " The guys and I asked him about it and he didn't confirm or deny."

Steph's POV

I feel like I've been sucker-punched in the gut, all the breath seemed to leave my body. It took me a few seconds to put together what Bobby was saying, but when the force of it hit, me… " Ranger got Vince sent on this mission." Why would he do that? Vince was his friend and his employee, one of his best guys. Bobby's eyes met mine. " He got Vince sent on the mission to get him out of the way so he could come back and have you."

I wanted to scream and cry at the same time. How could Ranger do that? I knew he could be ruthless, but this was unbelievable. He threw me away, then, when I get happy with Vince, he decides he wants me so he has Vince sent away so he can move in and take me? Oh my God. I felt my face get hot and my blood pressure rise. It was bad enough to send him away , but…then it occurred to me- "He shot Vince?" I asked, my voice shaking from surprise and anger.

Bobby looked straight into my eyes. " Honestly, honey, I just don't know. There is no evidence that he shot Vince, just that he sent him on the mission. I have known Ranger for years and I can't imagine him deliberately hurting a friend." I couldn't imagine that either, but who really knew what Ranger was capable of? I wouldn't have though him capable of getting a friend sent on a dangerous mission so that he could move in on a girl, either, but apparently he had. Poor Vince ahd gotten hurt because of me.

I felt weird, an odd combination of angry, hurt, and numb. Ranger had sent the man I love into danger on purpose so that he could move in on me. This after spending five years ignoring my feelings and then tossing me away like a used Kleenex?

Bobby must've recognized the look on my face, because he tried to calm me down. " Sweetie, we don't know what Ranger is capable of, so its best that we not accuse him directly. As he pointed out, if he has that kind of power, then we are smart to be very careful not to piss him off. So don't do anything drastic or rash. Just don't let him convince you to go back to him." I cringed. I wouldn't go back to him for anything. Bobby squeezed my hand. " Sweetie, he's on his way here. Just don't do anything drastic. I'll be right here with you."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the elevator dinged and Ranger stormed off, flanked by Lester and Hal. He passed Vince's room and walked right up to me. I stood stiffly, and Bobby rose next to me. Ranger walked up to me and said, " I hear that Vince is awake." I went to open my mouth to blurt out exactly what I was thinking, but I stopped when Bobby squeezed my hand in warning. " I want to talk to Stephanie, alone," Ranger said, dismissing the guys. Bobby squeezed my hand. " I'm going to go with the nurse to check on Vince. Lester and Hal will be right outside the door. He pegged Ranger with a testosterone laden look. " Just call if you need us."

I stood with Ranger, and neither of us said anything for the longest time. I could see Bobby in Vince's room, talking with a nurse. My anger at Ranger was bubbling up inside me, threatening to overwhelm me. "Babe," he said. " Don't babe, me Ranger. I heard about what you did, having Vince sent off like that so you could move in on me. You didn't want me, but no one else can have me. How could you do that to a friend?" Ranger just stayed quiet and let me yell at him. He was as cool as a cucumber, not even the slightest bit worried about getting found out. " I see the guys have told you their theories."

"Theories? Are they just theories?"

"Well, they have no proof. Since its Black Ops, they never will. Besides, do you honestly think that I have the power to alter a Black Ops mission on a days notice? "

I wasn't sure what kind of power he had. There was always so much about himself that he kept hidden from me. So many things that " I wouldn't want to know. " I have no idea anymore what you would do. At one time I was in love with you, but I don't even recognize you anymore."

His dark eyes locked with mine, taunging, challenging, " If I do have that much power, its probably smart for you to give me what I want." He moved closer, until our bodies were touching, not letting me back away. " And I have decided that I want you."

" Don't come near me. I don't want to talk to you ever again. " I reached up, and as hard as I could, I slapped him across the face. His jaw snapped back, his cheek had a huge red imprint of my hand. His hands fisted and his eyes shot fire. I could tell he was pissed., and trying to keep from smacking me back. Lester and Hal saw me slap him and came running over, afraid he would retaliate against me. They quickly pulled me away , and Lester shoved me behind his back. Ranger gave Lester one of those deadly menacing looks of his, then his snapping eyes looked at me and he smirked.

" I'm going to go visit Vince," he said , as if nothing had happened between us. " Alone." Lester moved closer to me as Ranger stepped past me and went to Vince's room. He spoke with Bobby , Woody, and the nurse, and they let him visit with Vince in private.

Bobby's POV

I left the room when Ranger came in. He had a right to visit Vince since Vince was his employee, and Vince was sleeping anyway, and had an oxygen mask on, so Ranger couldn't talk to him anyway. I went over to Steph, who was now almost shaking with the adrenaline surging through her after her confrontation with Ranger.

Lester said to her, " I can't believe you smacked him. I was aftraid he'd use that as an excuse to smack you back." I put my arm around her shoulders. " Well, I agree with the sentiment. Ranger definitely deserves to be smacked, at the very least. But I hope you didn't just make him angrier and more determined to have you. "

She frowned. " I know I shouldn't have done it, but I couldn't help myself. It just happened. "

We were all gathered in a small circle, trying to calm Steph, keeping her occupied so she wouldn't worry about Ranger visiting Vince. Mr. and Mrs. Sonterra came off the elevator, and we spent a few moments updating them on Vince.

I saw a splash of black go past my eyes, and I noticed Ranger left Vince's room and went right to the elevator. Good. That meant he was going to leave Steph alone for awhile. I could feel the tension starting to leave her body when she saw Ranger get on the elevator.

We spent another moment talking, then I took Steph's arm to lead her back to Vince's room. We had just cleared the corner when the area erupted in noise. "Code blue, ICU." What the fuck? Nurses and equipment raced into Vince's room. I left Steph with Lester and Hal and went racing into Vince's room. No one protested since I had worked here before as part of medic teams.

I was almost deafened by the frantic wailing of the alarm, and the organized, noisy chaos of a code. All eyes were glued to Vince's heart monitor, which registered a flat line. A nurse was doing CPR and a doctor was charging up the defibrillator paddles. I heard, "CLEAR!" and I saw Vince's body jolt as they shocked him. " No change. Asystole. "

As they prepared to shock him again, my eyes fell to a small vial on the floor. I was close enough to recognize it- it was an empty IV vial of potassium, which, when put straight into an IV , can definitely cause cardiac arrest. I watched Vince's body jolt as they shocked him again. Oh, fuck.


	26. Chapter 26

Acceptance- Chapter 26

Sorry that it has been so long. Been kinda bummed and didn't feel like writing. Reviews always make me feel good.

Bobby's POV

Vince's body spasmed as the second shock ripped through him. All eyes went to the monitor, where that flat line remained unchanged. Shit. "Still asystole. Resume CPR." The well rehearsed movements of the team continued. The doctor's eyes were confused as they went back and forth between Vince's face and the flat line racing across the monitor. " I don't understand this. He was stable. This shouldn't be happening." He should have responded by now."

I held the empty potassium vial up between two gloved fingers. " This is why it happened. Someone gave him a mega dose of potassium." The doctor looked pleased to at least have some explanation for Vince's arrest. " Ok, folks, lets push calcium gluconate, then resume the CPR " If they could keep Vince going while they gave drugs to reverse the effects of the potassium, then Vince still had a chance. "Hang in there, Vince" I whispered to my friend.

I didn't want to leave Vince, but could see Steph at the window, crying, her head buried in Lester's shoulder. I put the empty vial in my pocket and went out to the waiting area. Steph ran up to me, tears flowing down her face. " Oh, my God, Bobby, what happened? He's dying. He was doing better." I put her head against my shoulder, held her, and turned her away from where they were working on Vince.

"Um, honey, he had a bad reaction to a drug someone gave him, and it sent him back into cardiac arrest. They are doing everything they can for him." I heard my own voice breaking and tried to stay calm. Vince was my friend, and it wasn't looking good for him. I didn't want to tell Steph what I had found or my suspicions about what Ranger had done, not until I was sure. I handed Steph back to Lester, who tried to take her over to the waiting area, but she insisted on staying right outside Vince's room, her face buried in Lester's shoulder.

I stepped a few feet away and motioned Woody and Ram over. Lester was listening from a few feet away, Stephanie huddled against him, his jacket around her. We could hear the muffled sounds of her sobbing, her face buried in Lester's jacket. I huddled the guys. " Vince's arrest was deliberate. Someone gave him a massive dose of potassium to stop his heart." I nodded toward Vince's room. " They are trying to counteract the potassium and restart his heart now. " I made eye contact with each of them and knew that they had also put together the pieces. " We need to find Ranger, and alert Trenton PD and hospital security." Woody's face was grim. Ranger had been the last one in the room. Shit. They shouldn't have left him alone in there. " you don't think… even Ranger wouldn't…would he? Fuck. Vince has been his friend for years. " I turned to look at Steph, but she was buried in Lester's jacket, crying , so she didn't hear anything we were saying.

Steph's POV

I wasn't sure what was happening, just that Vince had been waking up, and now he was dying. He had been getting better, almost awake. I couldn't lose Vince. I loved him. I barely even felt Lester's arms around me and his hands stroking my back trying to comfort me. I couldn't stop crying. All my attention was focused on the frantic motion around Vince, the straight line on the monitor. Bobby came out and I could see past his blankface to the worry beneath.

I barely heard his voice, I was dizzy and lightheaded. " Vince had a bad reaction to something someone gave him, and it made his heart stop. They are doing all they can." He didn't seem very hopeful. I felt dizzy and lightheaded, glad that Lester was supporting me. That kind of thing wasn't supposed to happen in a hospital, was it? Lester tried to drag me away, but I wanted to be close to Vince.

Woody's POV

Shit. Vince was dying. And I couldn't believe it was Ranger who might have killed him. He wouldn't do that would he? I knew he had gotten Vince sent away so he could have Steph, but to actually kill Vince to get her? That seemed fucking ruthless , even for him. If it was true, I would kill that fucker myself. We couldn't confront him without proof could we? The Trenton PD could see if there were prints on the vial, but there probably wouldn't be any. Ranger was too smart to leave prints. We called Tank and alerted him to come over with the PD.

Bobby, Ram, and I were still discussing how the fuck we were going to handle this, when Steph's sobbing stopped abruptly. We all looked up and saw the doctor that was head of the code team come up to us. Steph's tear streaked face looked up at him hopefully, Lester's arms around her. Bobby went to stand beside her.

" Mr. Sonterra had a sudden cardiac arrest due to a …" he looked at Bobby meaningfully, "drug reaction. He initially didn't respond to resuscitation until we were able to give him another drug to counteract the first one and kept him alive until it had time to work. We were able to get his heart beating normally again. " The silence of the room was broken by the sound of Steph's relieved exhalation. She slumped against Lester in relief. " His heart was stopped for a significant time period, so there is the possibility of permanent brain damage. However, we kept him well oxygenated, so the possibility is small. We are stabilizing him now."

Steph's POV

When the doctor told us Vince was alive, I felt myself sag, and felt Bobby's arms instantly close around me . My mind refused to accept the part about the possibility of Vince having brain damage. That couldn't happen. I slumped into Bobby's arms, and he held me tightly, whispering that it was going to be ok. I was lightheaded and numb. " Bobby, what did he mean a drug reaction? Like an allergy to something they gave him? Shouldn't they know about allergies? What kind of hospital is this?"

I knew I was rambling now, " what do they mean brain damage? Oh, God, that is bad. He can't have brain damage. " Bobby was holding me, guiding me to the couch. " I don't know sweetie. We'll find out. Just take it easy and go sit down." I was shaking and he brought me water and covered me with his jacket. There was so much activity around me but it seemed separate from me. I could tell from the furtive looks between the guys that they did know something that they weren't telling me.

Suddenly there was a lot of activity. A bunch of guys from Rangeman suddenly showed up. Bobby, Woody, Lester, and Ram were joined by Tank, Hal, and Zip, and Binkie. A couple of Trenton PD guys showed up. Bobby left me sitting on the couch while he talked with them in a corner. I heard Tank and Hal leave, saying they were going to "cover Ranger." Zip and Binkie were told to "cover Vince's door, maximum security". The cops were talking to the doctors and the guys. Something big was going on that the guys didn't want me to know about. Part of me objected to being cut out of the loop. But most of me was just so numb and shaky and relieved that Vince had survived and I trusted that Bobby and the guys would take care of me. In some kind of delayed reaction, I felt myself go lightheaded and my last thought was that it was ok, the guys would take care of everything.

Bobby's POV

Steph's blue eyes opened slowly and I could tell when it registered that she was lying on the couch, her feet up, covered with a jacket. I was standing a few feet away, talking with Hal on the phone about surveillance on Ranger, but I abruptly ended the call when I saw that she was awake. " How are you feeling , sweetie. " She tried to sit up. "Oh, God, Bobby, I'm sorry. " She tried to sit up but I kept her lying on the couch. " I was just so scared and there is so much going on and I just got lightheaded , worried about Vince, and there is something else going on that no one is telling me about."

I knew she was in shock from everything that had happened, and now almost losing Vince again, but I was concerned that she had fainted again. I crouched beside her , taking her hand . "Sweetie, don't worry. Vince is alive and so far there's no sign of brain damage. Just relax. Don't worry about anything else. Trust us to take care of it." I was worried about her. She'd been so fragile the last few weeks, granted she'd had a lot of stuff going on, but she seemed so shaky. Steph was usually pretty tough and she'd been through a lot the last few weeks, with Vince leaving, Ranger coming, Vince getting shot, Ranger pressuring her. And now this crisis with Vince. But this was the third time she had fainted.

I had promised Vince I would take care of her and I was worried about her. She was going to need her strength to keep fending off Ranger, and who knows what danger she'll be in when we confront him about trying to kill Vince. If there was something going on with her, we needed to face it.

I knew that she and Vince had been intimate. Hell, I remembered giving him grief about the noisy bedsprings. But I wondered… " Steph, sweetie. Vince is stable for now. And yes, there are some other things going on that you need to know about , but first, I need to take care of you. You have been shaky and fainted twice now. I want you to get checked out. I know that you and Vince…well, is there any chance you could be pregnant?"

Her eyes got huge, and I could tell that with worrying about Vince and fending off Ranger, she hadn't thought about the possibility. "Oh, my God, Bobby…"


	27. Chapter 27

Acceptance- Chapter 27

Haven't really felt much like writing, but I enjoyed writing this. Please leave reviews, as I thrive on them.

Steph's POV

My eyes got huge and it took a minute for me to register what Bobby had asked. Was I pregnant? I tried to think past all the worry and clutter in my mind to the times that Vince and I had been intimate. Well, I guess I could be. There were a couple times that Vince and I were so caught up in each other that we didn't take time for condoms. I tried to think back to when I had gotten my last period, but so much has happened recently , and I couldn't remember exactly. Bobby took my confusion for affirmation and sat down next to me, my feet on his lap. " Sweetie, you need to get checked and find out for sure."

Oh, my God, what if I was pregnant? Would Vince even want a child? We hadn't really been together long enough to talk about it. Hell, what kind of mother would I make? I could barely keep my hamster alive. Vince's parents would hate me, and what if Vince didn't want me anymore? What about Ranger? What would he do if he found out I was pregnant? All the questions and worries just piled up on top of each other in my head and I couldn't help the tears that leaked out of my eyes. Damn, I had told myself I wasn't going to cry anymore now that Vince was alive. But I couldn't help the tear, then two, then a whole army of them flowing down my face.

Bobby looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face. " What's wrong?" I looked up at him and sobbed, " What if Vince doesn't want a baby? I will be a horrible mother." Bobby grinned and hugged me to him.

"Lets find out if you are even pregnant first, then we can worry about the other things later." I noticed he didn't disagree that I would be a terrible mom. "The guys will stay with Vince. Lets get you downstairs and see if we can get you examined to see if you are pregnant." He guided me down the hall and to the elevator.

Tank's POV

Shit. Tracking Ranger was no easy job. He was onto all the tricks. And even if we could manage to tail him, there was no way he wouldn't notice. We followed him to the office, where he went to his office on the fifth floor.

Hal and I stayed outside in the control room, acting like we were working. He looked nervous- really nervous. And the only thing that ever made Hal nervous was talking to women. "Tank, what the hell are we going to do? I mean, if he leaves are we going to stop him? Do we confront him? " I gave Hal a scowl. I had no fucking idea how to handle this. There was nothing in all my military training that covered, " how to handle it when you suspect that your boss tried to murder your friend but you have no proof."

I looked back at Hal. Lets just see what he does. Maybe he'll just stay here and get some paperwork done. I still couldn't believe that Ranger would try to kill Vince by injecting his IV with potassium. But then, we were almost certain that he had gotten Vince sent on the mission in the first place. I had no idea if he was responsible for Vince actually getting shot on the mission, but I was starting to believe that he was. If he was willing to try to kill Vince in a public place, he would have had no compunction about offing him on a secret mission in the middle of nowhere.

The control room phone buzzed. Shit. What now. " Sir, this is Manny down at the front desk. There are two cops here that want to talk to Ranger." Shit. This was going to get bad.

Bobby's POV

I waited in a chair just outside the room where they were examining Steph. I put my head back against the wall and closed my eyes, trying to take a minute to get rid of the headache that was making my head throb. I finally had a minute to stop and think. I would continue to be strong for Steph, she needed me, and Vince needed me, but I was exhausted. I felt like I was trying to plan strategy for a battle and this situation was becoming more of an enormous clusterfuck every minute. First Ranger sends Vince away and he gets hurt, then Ranger comes back for Steph, then Ranger possibly tried to kill Vince to get Steph. Then Steph may be pregnant.

I heard a slight sound and Ram sat next to me. " How's Steph?" he asked. I kept my eyes closed. " Ram, this is so fucked up. I have no fucking clue how to handle this. "

Just then, Steph and the nurse came out of the examining room. She looked up at me and I couldn't tell what she was thinking from the expression in her blue eyes. " I'm eight weeks pregnant." She smiled, then burst into tears. Ram looked shocked for a minute, but recovered quickly. I hugged Steph. " Congratulations, sweetie."

" She told me to go see my regular OB, and she wrote me a prescription for prenatal vitamins that we can fill downstairs at the pharmacy, " Her voice was muffled because her face was buried in my shirt. "Oh, God, Vince doesn't even know yet. No one should know before Vince."

"Why don't you stop in the restroom and wash your face and then we'll get you some food before you go back up to stay with Vince." We followed her down the hall a few feet to a restroom, and waited outside. Ram said, " The guys have got to know. If we are supposed to protect her from Ranger, they have to know about her condition. " I agreed, but Steph was not going to want the guys to know until Vince did. Under ideal circumstances, she was right, but these were far from ideal circumstances. " Ram took the prescription and went downstairs to the pharmacy to get it filled.

Steph came back out, looking better. She wanted to go right back up to Vince. " Steph, sweetie, you know you are pregnant now. You need to make sure you are taking care of yourself, especially with all this stress. Vince would want you taking care of yourself and the baby. He'll will be fine. The guys won't leave him alone. I guided her to the cafeteria, where the food sucked. I got her to eat a salad and half of a turkey sandwich. I ate a crappy cheeseburger. How the fuck can you mess up a cheeseburger? Somehow they did.

"Sweetie, I know that you want Vince to be the first to know about the baby, but it's going to be awhile until he is alert and strong enough to take care of you. In the meantime, the guys and I have to take care of you, to protect you from Ranger. To do that, they need to know about your condition."

" What do you mean, "protect me from Ranger?" "I told him I didn't want him to bother me anymore, so there shouldn't be any other problems." Damn. Have I mentioned that Steph is the queen of fucking denial-land? I took hold of her chin and lifted her head so she had to look me in the face.

" Steph. Vince trusted me to take care of you. Do you trust me? "

A quick grin flitted across her face. " Of course Bobby, I trust you with my life. I trust all the guys, but especially you."

"Then you need to trust me in this. There is a lot going on that we haven't told you about because you have enough stress with Vince being hurt. There is some bad stuff going on, and in order to protect you, the guys need to know about your pregnancy. " She seized on that, as I had been afraid she would.

"What else is going on? "

" I'll tell you about it when we get back upstairs." Shit. I did not want to tell her what was going on. She had enough stress, and now she had the baby to worry about.

Steph's POV

I really wanted Bobby to tell me what the hell was going on that I didn't know about, but I wanted to be with Vince even more. I had almost lost him, and now I needed to be near him. Whatever the other issues were, I was trusting Bobby and the other guys to handle it. All I cared about were Vince and now the baby. I ran past Zip and Binkie, who were standing guard outside Vince's door. The doctor and nurse were in with Vince, and Lester was sitting in the chair next to his bed. Lester reached out and pulled me into the other chair. " Come here., sweetie, the doctor was just about to give us an update."

"Mr. Sonterra's vitals have stabilized. Now the big concern is whether there was permanent brain damage from oxygen deprivation during the prolonged code." I felt myself tense at the words "brain damage" and I gripped Lester's hand tightly for support.

"We just performed an EEG, which measures brain activity. Mr. Sonterra's brain is functioning normally. There is no indication of any permanent damage from the arrest. He may have some temporary short term memory lapses, but nothing permanent." I felt myself let go of the breath I had been holding. My hand went unconsciously to my belly. _Its ok, little baby, I thought. Daddy's going to be ok._

I was so happy that I reached up and hugged Lester. He hugged me back and then left me alone with Vince. I relaxed with the steady beeping of the monitors and the warmth of Vince's hand. I kissed him on the forehead and took his hand. " Vince, " I whispered, " Its ok. You are going to be ok. And you are going to be a daddy." I knew he probably couldn't hear me, since he was still unconscious, but I wanted him to know . I held his hand and pulled the chair right up next to the bed, and let the steady beeping and hissing of the equipment lull me to sleep.

Ranger's POV

Tank got off the elevator, flanked by two cops. He and Hal had been tiptoeing around in the out office, acting like they were busy, but I knew they were doing surveillance on me. I had heard a lot of quiet phone calls. A lot of talk about "Vince" and "protecting Stephanie." I guess they meant protecting her from me. As if that was possible. What I want, I get, and I wanted Steph. I would do what was necessary to get her. If Others got in the way, well, that was their problem.

Tank knocked on the door to my office, and entered before I could even reply. . " Uh, boss, these two cops were downstairs. They insisted that they had to speak with you. "

I turned around, my , 'cold as an iceberg" expression on my face. I couldn't believe this shit. There was no solid proof that I had gotten Vince sent away, only speculation. And as for him getting shot, well, no one would ever know exactly what happened there. Except maybe Vince, if he survived.

The cops flashed badges. " We need to ask you some questions about Vince Sonterra."


	28. Chapter 28

Acceptance- Chapter 28

Please leave reviews. I live for them.

Lester's POV

I left Stephanie alone with Vince in his room. Bobby called all of us together, Ram, Binkie, Zip, and I and we huddled against the wall for a strategy meeting. Just as Bobby was beginning to update us, Steph came racing out of Vince's room, mumbling, " someone go in there with him." She raced right past us and ran into the ladies room. Binkie, Zip, and I had looks of confusion on our faces. What the hell is going on? We moved right outside Vince's door so that no one can get in there. He is alone- but only for a moment, and this must be important.

"Ok, guys, we have a new aspect to this whole clusterfuck. " Bobby looked worried and frustrated. " We just found out that Steph is eight weeks pregnant." Everyone but Ram looked shocked.

" Is it Vince's baby?" , Binkie asks, and we all gave him looks that tell him he is s stupid idiot. Bobby kept shooting worried looks at the ladies room door.

" Of course its Vince's, moron. Steph is a bit upset because it is very sudden and unplanned." He made eye contact with each one of us. " We need to take care of her, make sure she is taking care of herself. And , Ranger absolutely must not find out."

I cringed at the thought of Ranger finding out. He had already tried to kill his friend at least once to get Steph, if he were to then find out she was pregnant with his friend's baby, there would be hell to pay. We break our huddle and I go in to sit with Vince.

Steph's POV

I squatted with my head over the toilet, "worshipping the porcelain god" as the saying goes. I can't even eat a decent meal apparently. This is a reminder that I am carrying Vince's baby. I spent probably fifteen minutes here, emptying myself. I wonder what I will say to the guys. Certainly they will wonder about my sudden dash past them. Maybe Bobby already told them. I washed my face and cupped water in my hands to rinse out my mouth. I was scared. Not just because Ranger has turned into a madman, but because I was uncertain of my future. I have no idea if Vince even wants a child, and I have serious doubts about my ability to be a mother.

I must have been in the bathroom longer than I thought, because Bobby was waiting right outside with a bottle of water. " I was just about to go in and check on you," he said with a grin. He probably would be embarrassed, but he'd do it. He is taking his promise to Vince, the promise that he would take care of me, very seriously.

"How do you feel?," he asked . I feel weak, and my stomach is restless, but mostly I feel embarrassed. I don't want to face the guys, I just want to be with Vince. " Just a little shaky, " I replied. I took the bottle of water and went back to Vince's room. Zip was standing outside, and he gave me a smile and a hug as I went past him.

Twenty minutes later, I have the answer to the big question, " Has Bobby told the guys that I am pregnant?" In twenty minutes, Lester has dragged another chair in here so that I can put my feet up, Ram has brought me my prenatal vitamins and crackers from the vending machine, Zip told me that he would sit with Vince in a couple of hours so I can " get some rest" and even Binkie, who I barely know, poked his head in to " see if I needed anything." They probably all knew that I just vomited, which is embarrassing. I know I will get annoyed that they are already being overprotective, but I am glad that I have them to rely on. I know they will take care of me and protect me.

Tank's POV

The detective flashed his badge at Ranger. " I need to ask you some questions about Vince Sonterra."Hal and I just stood in silence as Ranger offered the detective a chair.

Ranger was cool as a cucumber, and put on his best innocent look. " What can I help you with?"

"How do you know Vince Sonterra?"

"He's my employee, and a very good one. He has also been a personal friend for about five years."

"When is the last time you saw him?"

It was scary how calm and composed Ranger's face was, like he was talking about paint colors or something. " Well, I went to the hospital to visit him earlier. I understand he was shot on a military mission. He is in the Reserves."

" Do you know any of the details of how he got shot?," the detective asked.

Ranger looked at the detective. "Vince is in a very special Reserve unit. They do a lot of top secret and "Black Ops" missions. " He stopped to give the detective a comradely look. " Were you in the military, detective?' he asked.

The detective nodded.

"Then you understand how these things are. The details may never be known."

Shit. Ranger was creepy, acting friendly, like he is best buds with the cop.

" When you saw Vince earlier, how was he?"

"Well, he had just become conscious, although I understand he was still in critical condition. He was unable to talk because he had an oxygen mask on. I was only there a few minutes."

The detective continued, " Are you aware that immediately after you left, Mr. Sonterra's condition took an immediate downturn and he went into sudden cardiac arrest?"

Ranger actually pulled off looking shocked. " Oh, shit. No, I didn't know that. That's terrible. I liked Vince a lot. I'm sorry that he is dead." He actually managed to look sad.

The detective continued, " Oh, he is not dead. He was able to be revived. He is currently in critical condition, but is expected to recover."

For just a fleeting second, I caught the look of surprise that flitted over Ranger's face at hearing that Vince was still alive. Then, he caught himself and looked subdued again.

" Well, that is a great relief. I am glad to hear that. Vince is a good man."

I am never scared of anything, but part of me was scared of Ranger right now. The man so calmly and diabolically telling lies about a friend he tried to kill isn't the man I have known for so long. This Ranger was a dangerous fucker.

The detective tried a different tack. " Do you know anything about potassium? Or IVs?"

" Well, I know that potassium is a mineral. As for IV's, well, I usually let Rangeman's medic, Bobby Brown take care of IVs and such."

"One more thing," said the detective. " What is your relationship to Stephanie Plum?"

Ranger got a condescending look on his face. "Well, Ms. Plum and I were sexually involved for a few years. I broke it off because she wanted more than I was able to give her. That was several months ago. I recently returned to Trenton from my offices in Miami, and decided that I want to try to patch things up with Stephanie. "

" What do you know about Ms. Plum's relationship with Mr. Sonterra?" Ranger got the most innocent look on his face.

" Well, both of them are my employees, so they have worked closely together for years. I believe that she is dating Vince now. I don't know a lot about their relationship since I was out of town. My men can probably answer that question better than I can."

The detective got up and Ranger shook his hand. " Well, thank you for answering my questions. I may have more later."

Ranger smiled benevolently, like a father giving candy to a child. " I will be happy to cooperate with the police. "

Ranger knew he was slick, and probably felt he had gotten away with everything. He didn't that there was some evidence. The look on Ranger's face when we left his office gave me the chills.

The detective left, and Ranger shut himself up again in his office. Hal and I sat next to each other at the monitors and spoke in low voices. " Shit. Do you think he did it? Hal asked.

"Of course he did it, " I said, "proving it will be hard. The police crime lab has the potassium vial, but I am sure Ranger is much too smart to leave fingerprints. That's why he is so calm and smug. He knows we suspect him, but there is no proof. And the cops can't charge him without some evidence."

Woody came into the room, looking more disturbed than I have ever seen him. " Tank, sir, I have something important to tell you," he said urgently. He saw the light on in Ranger's office and led us outside the control room.

" We have all been contacting our acquaintances in the military to try to find out what happened to Vince on the mission. I just heard back from one of my sources, a real hard core Marine. He knows a former military sniper who now does freelance mercenary work. The sniper was contracted by an anonymous source and paid $100,000 to go to the Middle East and follow an American extraction team. He was being paid to shoot the sniper of the team at the end of the mission. The guy felt kinda weird firing on a member of an American team, but he did it anyway for the money. The timing corresponds almost exactly to when Vince was shot."

Damn. " And he has no idea who paid him or where his orders came from?"

" He said it was totally anonymous."

Fuck. That had to be Vince that he shot. We had no idea if his mission was in the Middle East, but it was likely. And the timing matched up perfectly. That meant that Vince had been deliberately shot. But there was still no proof that it was Ranger who contracted and paid the guy. Shit.

" Even if the guy told us it was Ranger, we could never use that as proof. The mission never officially existed, " Woody mumbled angrily. "Fuck." Woody's voice was starting to rise in anger, and I pointed towards Ranger's office and motioned for him to keep his voice down. If Ranger went to all the trouble to get Vince sent on the mission, then paid a guy to shoot him, he would have no qualms about putting potassium in Vince's IV. We just had to prove it, before he made any more trouble for Vince or Stephanie.

Steph's POV

I sat in Vince's room for several hours, eventually joined by his parents. It was very awkward. Bobby told them about what had happened with the previous cardiac arrest, but that Vince was expected to fully recover. It was very awkward sitting there with them. I hardly knew them, and had no idea what to talk about. I certainly wasn't going to tell them about the baby. It was bad enough that the guys knew before Vince did, but that was necessary. No way was I going to tell his parents before he found out.

They must have thought it very weird though, that the guys were so solicitous to me. Zip came in and insisted that Vince's parents would stay with him while I "rest" in the middle of the day. Or that the guys kept bringing me crackers and water, since apparently that was all I could keep down. Or that Lester kept asking me if I "felt ok." They must have just thought that their son's girlfriend was high maintenance, but they never said anything.

I held Vince's hand, and stroked the hair off his forehead., trying not to mess up the IV and the wires he was connected to. He had been showing signs of coming around, and I wanted to make sure I was there when he did. Finally, his parents left to go get dinner, after I promised to call them if he woke up. The heart monitor started to beep slightly faster and his hand moved a bit in mine. Then, his lashes started to flutter slightly. I had been staring at him, when I noticed that his eyes had opened a slit. His brown eyes fluttered for a moment, seemed to search the room, then settled on me.

I smiled, relieved to see his eyes again. I had almost lost him twice and I had been afraid that I'd never see his eyes again. " Hey, Vince. Its ok. You're going to be ok." His eyes were still a bit glazed, but I thought I saw panic in them. His hand started to squeeze mine, with more strength than I had expected. He couldn't talk because of the mask on his face, but I saw his lips moving slightly. "Vince, its ok. You're ok. You can't talk right now because you have an oxygen mask on." I wasn't sure if he heard or understood, because he kept trying to talk, and the heart monitor sped up as he got more and more agitated.

I yelled for Zip to get Bobby, and within seconds Bobby came racing in, apparently expecting the worst. He looked relieved when he saw that Vince was partially awake.

"He's trying to talk, and I told him not to," I said. "But he keeps saying something, but I can't tell what."

Bobby came over and said, "Vince, dude, everything's ok. Just relax. "

Vince's eyes seemed panicked, moving back and forth between Bobby and I. His mouth kept moving, although it was hard to tell what he was saying around the mask. I was afraid that if Vince got really agitated it might cause a setback. He obviously was trying to communicate with us.

Vince kept saying something over and over. It was obvious Vince wasn't going to relax until we knew what he was saying. Bobby carefully took off the oxygen mask. " Vince, ok, tell us what you wanted to."

Bobby and I had to lean close to him to hear. Vince's voice was weak and scratchy from having tubes down his throat. He kept repeating himself, looking frantically at Bobby and me. I finally was able to recognize the words Vince was saying. I could tell the exact moment that Bobby recognized them too.

Bobby nodded, said " ok, Vince. We got it. We know. Its ok. Steph's safe and you are safe. " Vince's eyes stayed on mine. Bobby put the oxygen mask back over his face, and I felt Vince's hand go slack in mine as he went to sleep.

Bobby and I looked at each other. Vince had been frantically trying to tell us to "Stay away from Ranger."


	29. Chapter 29

Acceptance- Chapter 29

Sorry for the confusion with the posting of Chapter 28. This is the real Chapter 29. I hope you like it. Please leave reviews, as I live for them.

Ranger's POV

After the cop left, I sat back in my chair and grinned. I think I did a pretty good job getting through that interview with that stupid cop. Fuck, I am a good liar. I was surprised to hear that Vince had lived, though. I was told potassium was guaranteed to cause a cardiac arrest that would be unresponsive to resuscitation. Damn. I guess they found him in time. Well, they had no idea that I had anything to do with that anyway. Vince was slightly conscious when I did it, but who knows what condition he's in. I doubt he'll remember it. I dropped the vial somewhere, but it doesn't matter, since I wore gloves and there will be no fingerprints. I am way too fucking smart for that.

Tank and Hal are hovering outside my office, skittering around me. What the fuck? My own badass men are scared of me? How ironic is that? Well, right now. My guys may be suspicious, but there is no way in hell they'll prove anything.

I guess technically I am evil for trying to kill one of my friends, but he should have known better than to get in my fucking way. No one gets between me and what I want. What I want is Stephanie.

I had to go to the hospital to see how Vince was.

Tank of course, followed me out, Hal was on his phone.

Bobby's POV

We called Vince's parents so they would know that he is awake and can come stay with him. Steph was confused and asking all kinds of questions , the answers to which I don't want to give her. She doesn't need any more stress than she already has.

Vince is awake intermittently, but he hasn't tried to say anything since he gave Steph and I the warning about Ranger. Obviously he knows or remembers something about Ranger hurting him, but he isn't strong enough to talk about it yet. I have three guards on him now, and I have made a request at the nurse's station that he not have any visitors other than the ones already here. There is no way Ranger can find out that Vince may remember something. Ranger would have no qualms about trying to kill him again, and I don't think Vince could survive another attempt on his life right now. We'd been lucky so get him back both times, there is no way he'd survive a third arrest. He is sleeping now anyway.

Tank just called me and told me the cops just left Rangeman. Apparently, Ranger was a fucking madman and gave the cops a rational answer for everything. Shit. Tank and Hal are going to keep an eye on Ranger. Woody apparently got word that Ranger "anonymously" hired someone to shoot Vince on the mission. Dammit. I want to kill that fucker Ranger myself. He tries to kill my best friend , a man who is also his friend, just to get a girl who doesn't want him?

Now Steph is asking questions and she wants to know why Vince is warning us about Ranger. She doesn't know about any of the stuff going on, other than Ranger got Vince sent on the mission. I don't want to be the one to tell her, because it will upset her , but I should be the one to tell her, because I promised Vince. I don't know the best way to do it to make it easier for her. Nowhere in my training does it deal with how to handle a clusterfuck of a situation like this one. I am totally winging it here, and I hate winging it. Not when the stakes are this high.

She has just come out of the ladies room from throwing up again. She is pale and this shit I am going to lay on her isn't going to help. I grab her arm. "Steph, Vince's parents are with him. You've been asking how Vince knows to warn us about Ranger. There's a lot t I have to tell you." She just nodded and I led her to the small couch. Shit. This is going to kill her. I gave her a bottle of water and some crackers and waited unitl she's eaten them.

She finished the crackers and looked up at me with trusting eyes, waiting for me to give her more things to worry about. " Remember I told you earlier that we suspected that Ranger might have been involved in getting Vince sent on this mission? " She nodded. " Did you get proof of that?"

" No, sweetie, its Black Ops, we will probably never have proof. But there is something else we have strong suspicion of. We believe that Ranger took out a contract on Vince."

Steph just looked at me, puzzled , like she hadn't quite put it together.

" Steph, he paid a guy to follow Vince's unit and shoot Vince. He wanted to get rid of Vince to get to you."

Steph paled. " No, he wouldn't do that. Would he? I mean, Ranger has been an ass, but, Vince is his friend, he wouldn't do that would he? How could he?" She dissolved into tears, her body shaking. "He almost killed Vince, because…of…me…" Her whole body was shaking with sobs. Shit. I held her and let her cry into my shoulder. If that information mad her this upset, then what I had to tell her next would kill her. I held her to me, letting her calm down before I went on to tell the rest, the worst part.

She was crying on my shoulder when Lester caught my eye and waved me over. I left Steph on the couch, and went over to him.

"Hal just called. The cops were there to question Ranger. He was surprised to find out that Vince is still alive. He's on his way over here now." Shit. Could this situation get any worse? Steph had to know the rest before Ranger got here. I went over to the couch, where she was wiping her eyes with the bottom of her shirt. "Steph, sweetie, there is something else you need to know."

She looked at me, eyes filled with tears, and I hated having to tell her this.

I sat next to her and took her hand, looking into her eyes. " Sweetie, earlier, when Vince had the arrest, it was because he'd been deliberately given an injection of potassium . Potassium injected directly into an IV will stop someone's heart. Somebody TRIED to kill him, and we have no actual proof, but we think it was Ranger. Vince must remember and that's why he's warning us to stay away from Ranger. "

Steph's mouth fell open and she just stared at me for, stock still for a moment, disbelieving. " So, Ranger put potassium in Vince's IV to make his heart stop?" She whispered. " Why?" Here eyes met mine and hers got a tortured look in them. " He tried to kill Vince to get to me?'" Oh, God! " She was sobbing , her head buried in her hands.

She sat back on the couch, motionless, just whispering, " oh my god, poor Vince."She just had a distant look on her face, as if she couldn't really process what was happening.

I hugged her. " Don't worry, sweetie. Its going to be ok. Vince wil be ok, and we won't let Ranger anywhere near him."

"What about the cops?," She asked.

"Well, they are investigating, but Ranger is not stupid. He won't leave much evidence. But it seeme like Vince remembers something, so when he can talk better, we can ask him."

Steph just sat there, motionless, for a few moments. The stillness ended when the elevator pinged. All the guys snapped to attention, figuring that it was Ranger. None of us was surprised to see him walk smugly off the elevator.

" Yo." He said, looking around at the guys as if nothing had happened. "I came to see how Vince is. I heard he had a bit of a setback."

None of us expected the scream and the figure we saw streaking past us. Steph had run up to Ranger, screaming, " You tried to kill Vince ,you bastard." Before any of us could stop her, she jumped on him and punched him, several times, hard. "You bastard," she yelled. " You tired to kill Vince. You bastard." Ranger pushed her away from him, hard, against the wall, and Lester caught her around the waist and held her back. " Steph, shh…" he whispered as he held her. She struggled against him for a moment, trying to get at Ranger. " He tried to kill Vince," She yelled, her voice muffled because Lester had her held against him, pulling her away from Ranger.

Ranger gave a dispassionate glare. He called the hospital security and the police. " I want her arrested for assault." Ram and I got into his face.

" You cannot be fucking serious," I yelled , right into his face. "Big badass Ranger can't handle a little punch from a woman? After what you have done, you have the balls to have her arrested for assault? "I was right in his face, and I had never been so angry. I am glad Lester and Zip pulled me away from Ranger before I fucking killed him. My hand was just itching towards my gun.

Ranger looked at all of us, pegging us each with an icy stare. " I can't believe you told Stephanie unfounded lies about me. I don't know here you got these ideas, but there is absolutely no proof." He moved toward Vince's door, but Ram stepped in front of him. "Vince's parents are with him right now. You cannot go in."

Hospital security showed up, followed by a cop. I couldn't believe Ranger was going through with this. Was he trying to scare Steph? What the fuck did he have to gain from this? Ranger made a report and told the cop he wanted Steph arrested for assault. I couldn't fucking believe this shit.

The cop went into the hallway and I followed him. Lester was still holding Steph, and she was crying. When the cop actually put fucking handcuffs on her, this small little crying woman, I wanted to kill Ranger for this. "Shh, Steph, don't worry. Its ok. Ram already called the lawyer and he'll meet you at the station. We'll bail you right out." I went with her and the cop downstairs, and then Lester and I followed in a Rangeman SUV. Zip and Binkie sent Ranger away from Vince, saying he could only have one visitor and his parents were there.

We followed Steph to the police station. She looked lost and scared and tired, her hands cuffed behind her as if she were the fucking killer, like Ranger was. She finally quit crying and just sat stoically as they led her through the booking process. The lawyer met us there, and we bailed her out right away.

" Are you ok, sweetie?" I asked, hugging her. "yeah, " she said.

" You know it probably wasn't a smart idea to punch Ranger like that. It will just make him angrier," I said, as Lester and I walked her out to the SUV.

" I know, but I couldn't help myself. After you told me what he did, and then when I saw him, I just lost it. I can't believe he tried to kill Vince."

"Why the fuck doesn't he get arrested?" she asked. I don't know, cause he is a smart, diabolical asshole?

I insisted that she go back to the hospital and get checked out since Ranger had pushed her against the wall pretty hard. The doctor examined her and said there didn't appear to be any damage to the pregnancy. She looked like hell, though, her eyes red rimmed and her face puffy from crying.

I was so fucking tired, and I could only imagine how tired Steph was. " Sweetie, Ram promised he'll stay with Vince after the Sonterras leave. I want you to go home and get some real sleep in your own bed. You have had a very rough day, and you need to get your rest.

" But I want to stay with Vince," she said.

Lester grinned at her. " You will scare the hell out of Vince, honey. You look like shit. Besides, he is still sleeping most of the time. " She insisted on stopping to say goodnight to him, though.

Lester's POV

Bobby was exhausted, so I brought Steph back to her duplex so she can get some real sleep in her own bed. She didn't fall asleep in the car like she usually does, and she was unusually quiet, but and I knew she was still angry about the shit with Ranger. Bobby didn't want to give her anything to make her sleep because he didn't want to risk hurting the baby.

I knew she was tired, but she was so keyed up that I knew it would be hard to get her to sleep. I waited while she took a shower, then dressed in one of Vince's shirts and a pair of sweats. I helped her under the covers, but she just lay there sobbing.

I got into the bed next to her on top of the covers and held her, trying to quiet her sobs. "Shh, Steph, it'll be ok. Its ok. Ranger is an ass, but don't worry about him. "

" Think of all the good things. Vince is getting better and the two of you are going to have a wonderful baby, and I get to be Uncle Lester. "And you gave Ranger a black eye. How cool is that?" She giggled a little, and then snuggled into my chest. I held her close to me for about an hour, until I felt her body relax and she finally dropped off into sleep.I pulled myself out from under her carefully, and then wrapped the covers around her. I went out into the living room, and made myself comfortable on the couch. I didn't sleep worth shit, but Steph did. I know, because I checked on her every hour or so.

I could not believe how fucked up the situation was. Ranger treid to kill Vince twice, and we don't have enough evidence to arrest him, but Steph gives him a few well deserved punches and SHE gets arrested.

This was seriously fucked up.


	30. Chapter 30

Acceptance- Chapter 30

Sorry it has taken so long for this update. The last week or so has been crazy. Please leave feedback, as I live for it.

Ranger's POV

I took the icepack from my eye and looked in the mirror. My eye was still dark and bruised. I looked like some fucking loser geek who got beat up in grade school, not the fucking badass force to be reckoned with that I am. There would be no way to hide this. Shit. I couldn't believe that the little bitch had the nerve to hit me. What the hell did she think she was going to accomplish? Did she actually think she could hurt me?

Fuck. She did humiliate me, though, in public and in front of my men. How could I not have her arrested when she publically attacked me? All my men are probably laughing at me. I do have a reputation to protect. I have never seen her so mad. Bobby and the guys must have told her what they suspect about me. It doesn't matter, though, since no one can prove it.

As angry as I am that she had the nerve to hit me, I still want her. In fact, I want her even more. Something about a woman playing hard to get or spurning your advances makes her more of a challenge, more of a conquest. Kind of the way a predator enjoys stalking prey. The thing is, I want Stephanie back, and the more she resists, the more I want her. It's a matter of pride now.

My cell phone rang, and the number on it was that of one of my contacts at the hospital. I have contacts everywhere. "Manoso," I answered it. " Are you sure?", I asked after a moment. "How do you know? Who was with her? Ok, thanks, I will bring you your payment."

Fuck. My contact at the hospital tells me Steph is pregnant. Apparently , she was there twice yesterday to be examined. I wonder which of my guys is the father to the little brat? Vince? Bobby? Lester? I was pretty sure she was fucking all of them. I wonder if she even knew who the father was.

The thought of Steph being pregnant really pissed me off. Vince or one of my other guys was poaching on what I want. I want Steph, but I sure as hell don't want a baby, especially not another man's baby. I guess it doesn't matter yet. Apparently, it is very early in the pregnancy. Who knows? Lots of things can happen in seven months. Women lose babies all the time for all kinds of reasons. I fired up the computer and did some research, then called the guy who gave me the info on the potassium.

I found what I needed, then grabbed my jacket and headed out of the office, Hal and Woody dogging my every step. Woody is on his phone, probably reporting everything I do to Bobby.

Bobby's POV

I felt well rested when I arrived at Steph's place. Before Lester left he said she'd had a hard time getting to sleep, but then she slept all night, and eaten the huge breakfast Ella had left. He left to change , then would meet us at the hospital.

Now I heard the sounds of retching as Steph was in the bathroom losing that big breakfast. I was worried that she had been vomiting so much, but a friend of mine who is an OB/GYN intern told me that is very common for some women to have severe vomiting, especially in the early stages.

When she came out, I noticed that she looked better and more rested than she had in a long time. " Are you doing ok?" , I asked. She grinned. " other than the usual morning puke –my-guts-out, I am fine."

We stopped at a diner and got her toast and a shitload of crackers, since that seems to be pretty much all she could hold down. As we arrived at the hospital, Woody called on my cell. Apparently Ranger had gotten a call from someone at the hospital and then left the office. I kept my part of the call limited to one and two word responses, as I didn't want Steph to hear what we were talking about. After that crazy shit attacking Ranger the other day, I wasn't sure what she might do, and I sure as hell didn't want her to get arrested again.

When we arrived at the hospital, Zip and Ram were outside his door. The doctor was in Vince's room, along with his parents. I left Steph there with them.

Steph's POV

" Well, Mr. and Mrs. Sonterra, Vince is doing very well. We replaced the oxygen mask, with a nasal cannula. He will probably still be in a fair amount of pain and will sleep a lot, but if he continues to improve, , we will move him out of ICU and into a regular room. He has a patient controlled morphine IV drip that he can use if the pain becomes a problem. "

Vince's parents hugged each other, pleased to hear good news. They had been here all night so they were tired. They decided to go to their hotel room to rest. Hismother went over to the bed, and gripped Vince's hand. I heard him say something to her, then she kissed him, waved to me, and left.

I went to Vince's side, and was relieved to see how much better he looked. He still had the IV, and was still hooked to the monitors, but the oxygen mask was gone. I took his hand and kissed him. " Hey, Vince," I whispered. I was surprised when his eyes fluttered open, and focused on me. I could tell he was in some pain, and was a little groggy, but he seemed much more cognizant of what was happening around him.

He smiled a slight smile when he saw me, then he said, "Steph" in a scratchy voice. I felt lightheaded with joy. He was awake! And talking!

" Vince, its ok. Are you in pain? You can use this to give yourself more painkillers." I showed him the button on the IV. I had been so afraid that I would never get to hear his voice or talk to him again. I had to stop myself because I wanted to just spill out everything, about the baby, but then I decided to wait for just the right moment. It seemed a lot to dump on him when he just woke up

" No, its ok," he whispered. That was Vince, so macho. No extra painkillers for him, he'd suck it up.

" Is Ranger here?" he asked, urgently. " No, , he's at the office." I didn't want to tell him what the guys had said about Ranger. But he obviously knew something. . I wanted to tell him everything that had gone on with me getting arrested, but he'd probably try to get up and kill Ranger. I had no doubt that if Vince was healthy he could take Ranger, but I didn't want him trying it now.

Vince grimaced as if in pain, then said, " Get Bobby."

"Vince, what's wrong?" I asked, suddenly alarmed.

" Just get Bobby," He whispered more urgently.

I didn't want to leave Vince alone, so I poked my head out the door.

" Hey, honey, is everything ok?" Ram asked.

" Get Bobby," I said. Ram looked alarmed, like he was worried something had happened to Vince again.

"Vince needs to talk to Bobby." I said, to allay his concern.

About two minutes later, Bobby came into the room, his handsome face looking alarmed , until he saw Vince awake in the bed.

Bobby's POV

I was so relieved to see Vince awake and apparently fairly alert. I walked over to the bed, next to Steph. Vince let go of her hand and gripped mine, in a weak version of our guy handshake thing.

"Hey, dude. Welcome back. Don't worry. I'm taking care of Steph for you, like I promised."

Vince grinned. " I owe you one." Then, the grin disappeared and his face got serious.

" Keep her away from Ranger," he whispered. He spoke slowly , and I could tell talking was an effort for him. I remembered his earlier warning about Ranger, and knew he knew something.

"Yeah, we know. He's been hassling Steph, so we are running interference for her." I didn't want to tell him all the shit that had been happening just yet. Not until he was in better shape. I wondered if he remembered what had happened on his mission.

" No, worse." Vince's hoarse voice cracked. He looked right into my eyes and said, "he drugged me or something." Steph and I exchanged looks, and then looked back at Vince.

"What?" I asked.

I could tell Vince was in pain, and he was obviously getting tired because his voice got shakier. " Before, ..I don't know how long ago. When I was awake before. He came in. He thought I was asleep. He said, "this should take care of it", and he did something to my IV. Some kind of drug. Then I passed out again."

I couldn't believe that he remembered Ranger being in here. He'd been pretty out of it then. And then with the arrest…well, I was afraid he would have memory loss. But if he remembered, that was just what we needed to nail Ranger's ass to the wall.

" I remember being on the mission, then waking up and he was here, then I saw Ranger, and then I passed out again."

Steph and I exchanged looks. She stroked his hand, and I clasped his shoulder. "Don't worry man, we know. We're taking care of it. It's ok. Just take it easy."

His eyes started to droop, and he clasped Steph's hand and fell back asleep.

I left Steph there, holding his hand, then went outside to call the cops. This was exactly what we needed to get Ranger.

Ram's POV

Bobby and the detective came out of Vince's room and Bobby, Lester, Zip and I huddled around him. Lester took Stpeh some water and crackers and left her with Vince. She was so concerned with taking care of Vince, she didn't need to worry about this part of it. Especially not in her condition.

"Ok, so between the vial and what Vince saw, you should have enough to arrest Ranger, right?, " I asked the detective.

He demurred. " Well, we didn't get any fingerprints off the vial. The lab is still testing to see if they can get any other forensic evidence off of it."

"What about what Vince saw? That should be enough," Bobby reminded him.

The cop didn't make eye contact with any of us. " Well, Mr. Sonterra was only partially conscious when he said he saw Ranger there. And according to the doctors, Mr. Sonterra could have some short term memory problems. Its entirely possible that he doesn't remember correctly."

What the fuck? I could tell Lester and Zip were getting seriously pissed off, and I was clenching and unclenching my hands to keep from hitting this guy.

"Look, Vince isn't imagining Ranger being in there. He was in there. We had stupidly given him some privacy to talk to Vince. Two minutes later, Ranger came rushing out. Vince goes into cardiac arrest, and Bobby finds the vial on the floor. Vince's memory completely fits in with the evidence that we have. Which of us is the fucking cop here, Sherlock?, I yelled. Practically in his face.

The cop swallowed nervously. He wasn't used to having four pissed off Rangemen in his face.

"What we have is a vial that anyone could have brought into the room , circumstantial timing evidence, and the vague recollection of a man who may have short term memory problems. That is not enough to arrest Mr. Manoso. He is a very prominent businessman with successful businesses across the country. We can't just arrest him without some kind of hard evidence."

" I cannot fucking believe this," Zip exploded. " He has been harassing Steph, saying Vince took her away from him, then Vince happens to arrest immediately after Ranger visits with him alone and Vince remembers Ranger drugging his IV, but somehow that isn't enough for you?."

"Does he have you guys paid off or something, or are you just scared of him?," Bobby yelled. We were all pretty much losing it on this asshole, when the door to Vince's room opened and Steph stuck her head out.

We all instantly got quiet, and put benign expressions on our faces before we turned to look at her.

" What's up, sweetie," Lester said , his voice suddenly changed from pissed off to gentle.

That was fucking amazing. It happened all the time , with all of us. One minute we'd be fucking pissed, beating the fuck out of someone, and as soon as we see her we go all soft and gentle. Its kind of embarrassing , because we are all such badasses, but she brings out that gentle, overprotective side in all of us. Especially now that she was pregnant.

" I really have to pee. I know its silly, but I don't want him to be alone. Could one of you stay with him for a few minutes?," she asked.

Steph was kind of silly. After all, Vince was asleep and wouldn't even know if she left for five minutes to go pee. But we all knew that she was very worried that he would wake up alone and think he was abandoned or something. It was really important to her. It was one of those quirky things about Steph that we put up with because we all loved her. It was probably a good idea for me to get away from this asshole anyway, before I got arrested for punching the stupid ass in the face.

" Sure, sweetie, I'll sit with him." Steph smiled and whispered, "thanks" as I went into Vince's room , leaving the other guys to deal with the cop.

Steph's POV

It took me longer than a few minutes in the bathroom thanks to my "not just in the morning "sickness"and the guys constantly making me drink water. When I came out 15 minutes later, Zip was waiting for me outside the ladies room. I could instantly feel the hyperalertness coming from the guys. There was a tenseness in the air. Lester and Bobby were standing blocking Vince's doorway. Zip was trying to rush me back into Vince's room. We were just past the elevator when it dinged.

Zip walked faster, keeping himself between me and the elevator. The doors opened and I froze as I saw Ranger step off. Bobby kept pulling me toward Vince's room, obviously wanting to get me somewhere that Ranger couldn't get to me.

Ranger did a quick sweep of the room with his eyes, then stared right at me. His voice was low and harsh when he spoke. "Well, Stephanie , I understand congratulations are in order."


	31. Chapter 31

Acceptance- Chapter 31

Please leave feedback, as I live for it. Don't worry, Ranger will be starting to get his due.

Steph's POV

I froze and stared at Ranger, ignoring Bobby's insistent hands on my shoulders urging me towards Vince's room. How the hell could Ranger know that I was pregnant? I only found out myself. He must have a contact in the hospital. I don't know why that should surprise me. A man who can alter a Black Ops mission with one phone call should have no problem accessing someone's medical records.

Ranger was staring at me, his eyes dead black. " Yes, I understand you are eight weeks along. So, far a healthy pregnancy, I'm told. You should be sure to take care of yourself. You wouldn't want anything to happen to you or that baby, would you?"

He definitely meant that as a threat. He wanted to hurt me and my baby. Bobby was pulling at me, trying to get me away, but I wouldn't let him. I was frozen, glued to the spot like deer in headlights. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and my stomach churning, and I tried not to let Ranger know I was trembling.

" So, who's is it? Vince's?" He looked around the room, scanning the guys. " Or maybe its Bobby's, he's been with you a lot since Vince got laid up. Or maybe Lester'S? Hell, are you screwing all my men? Do you even know which of them is the father?"

I felt myself stiffen and tense, , wanting to scream at him, hit him again. Fucking bastard. He knows I am only with Vince. I felt Bobby stiffen behind me and his hands tightened on my shoulders, and became more insistent as he guided me firmly into Vince's room before I could faint or smack Ranger again.

" Stay here and don't come out," Bobby said sternly as he finally shoved me into the room and closed the door. Zip and Lester stood in front of it, creating an impenetrable wall. I was glad to be away from Ranger, but I was worried that something bad was going to happen between him and the guys. I did know that there was no way the guys would let him get to me or Vince.

I walked over and grabbed Vince's hand. I thought he was asleep, but his dark eyes opened and he grimaced as he heard muffled voices from outside the room. The voices were low and ominous, but we couldn't really hear everything that was being said.

" Is Ranger here?", Vince muttered, grimacing as he shifted in the bed. He looked like he wanted to get up. See, that is one of the reasons I love him so much. He is badly hurt, still so weak, still hooked up to machines and monitors, yet he is trying to get out of bed and confront Ranger. But I didn't want him hurting himself and having another setback, so I put my hand on his chest and pushed him back down on the bed.

"Yes, Ranger is here, but the guys are taking care of it. He won't get to you, just rest." He looked better, and was almost fully alert now, but I knew he was in a lot of pain, because he was too damn macho to use the morphine injector.

"Its not me I'm worried about. I don't want him near you," he whispered, squeezing my hand. " Its ok, we're both safe, " I said, stroking his hair and trying to get him to calm down and rest again. From what I could tell on the monitors, it looked like he was stable. But I had come so close to losing him, twice, that I wasn't about to risk it again. I wanted to distract him from what was happening outside, so he wouldn't try to get up and help the guys.

I wanted to tell him about the baby, but I wasn't sure how. I mean, I don't even know if he wants a baby. We haven't been dating that long. I loved him and I think he loved me, but still, a baby was a huge step. Vince was an independent guy. I just held his hand. It felt so strong and comforting in mine. There's the thing. Vince is the one who was critically injured, still weak, but he is the one giving me strength and comfort. I just held his hand in silence, staring at his hand, not looking at him.

His dark eyes studied me quietly for several minutes. The only sounds in the room were the steady beep of his heart monitor and the muffled voices from outside the room. He squeezed my hand, forcing me to look up, and his dark eyes, full of startling clarity now, met mine. "What's going on?" he asked , quietly, but insistently.

I deliberately evaded. " Well, you got shot, and then we think Ranger tried to kill you, but you will be fine now. The guys have been running interference between me and Ranger. We are trying to find enough proof to have him arrested." I stopped and briefly met his eyes. His eyes scanned mine, and I felt like he was seeing into my soul.

"What aren't you telling me?," he asked, the conviction in his voice belying its weakness. His eyes met mine.

I squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back. I didn't want to tell him about the baby yet. What if he left me? What if he didn't want it?" "Nothing," I said, my eyes filling with tears. I couldn't meet his eyes.

He let go of my hand and grasped my chin, pulling my head up to meet his eyes. " Bullshit. Tell me what you're hiding from me." Vince is so solid. He has never let me hide things from myself or from him. He makes me confront myself. He doesn't let me live in denial-land. That is one of the reasons he is so good for me.

" I, um," , I felt the tears finally overflow and spill out of my eyes. "I, um, …I'm eight weeks pregnant."

He didn't say anything , but his thumbs brushed the tears that fell down my cheeks. " Don't cry. Are you and the baby ok," He rasped. Tiredness had snuck up on him, but he was fighting it.

" Um, yeah, we're ok. I fainted twice and Bobby says my blood pressure is a little high, but some of that may be from stress. He's been taking very good care of me, like he promised." His hand crept to mine and he pulled me toward him with more strength than I had expected him to have. I wanted to hug him, but I was afraid of hurting him. I worked my way around the bandages and electrodes on his chest, and put my head carefully on his uninjured shoulder. I felt him kiss the top of my head, then whisper, "its going to be ok, Steph. Don't worry." I felt his body go slack under me as his weakness finally overtook him and he fell back into sleep.

Bobby's POV

I could not fucking believe that Ranger was here again. I grabbed Steph and pulled her towards Vince's room, but she stayed rooted to the spot. Zip and kept himself between Ranger and Steph. I couldn't believe that Ranger had threatened Steph, like that, but in a way, I was glad. We had been trying to get a restraining order against Ranger to keep him away from Stpeh, but we didn't have anything solid. Now we had something concrete, a threat made in front of witnesses , that should at least get us a restraining order against him. I turned and met Lester's s eyes, and he nodded, then got on the phone to the cops and I guess a lawyer.

I felt the rigidness in every line of Steph's body, her shoulders tense under my hands. There was no way in hell Ranger would get to her or Vince, we wouldn't allow it. But right now I was more worried about her jumping him again. I tightened my grip on her shoulders and practically dragged her into Vince's room. "Stay here," I told her. Lester and Zip moved in front of the door to keep her in and Ranger out of the room.

Once Steph was protected, we could confront Ranger. " What the fuck are you doing here again? I thought we made it clear that you aren't welcome here and Steph sure as hell doesn't want you anywhere near her."

Ranger's glance made the rounds, pegging each of us with what most would consider an intimidating stare. We intimidated right back. " What, are you fucking her too, Bobby? You've been all cozy with her . Maybe its your kid and not Vince's."

He was trying to goad me into beating the shit out of him, and it was a hell of a temptation. I am almost as big as he is, and my hands are as good at taking lives as they are at saving them. Not to mention my beloved Glock. I can be a dangerous fucker when I want to be. So I got right up in Ranger's face.

" I do not have to explain myself to you. No one here does. But just so you know, I have not and will not have sex with Steph. I will always take care of her because I care about her and I promised my best friend that I would."

Zip and Lester moved from the door and surrounded Ranger, keeping themselves between him and Vince's room. Ram joined us, and we were a black wall around Ranger. Zip was pissed, "We will all take care of Steph. And Vince."

Ram also got into his face. " Who Steph does or does not have sex with is no concern of yours. All you need to know is that she will never again have sex with you."

Ranger's face remained impassive, but his eyes were black with anger. " Are you forgetting that you are all my employees? Vince, Steph, all of you. I tell you what you can and can't do, you don't tell me. You can't prove any of the things you accuse me of, and you never will.

Woody's POV

The Rangeman network is incredible. We have experts in everything, including some of the best computer minds in the world, most of whom used to be military. And if we don't have them in house we can contract out. While Bobby and the others had been at the hospital physically protecting Steph and Vince, some of us guys were busy trying to nail Ranger's ass to the wall. We had asked for volunteers to do this part, since anyone who got caught snooping in Ranger's personal files would get fired, and possibly killed. All of the guys were willing to do it, because they were so pissed that Ranger would try to kill Vince. They all wanted a part in taking him down.

If the fucking cops couldn't make enough of a case against Ranger to arrest him, then we'd have to goddamn do it for them. We knew we could probably never prove that Ranger got Vince sent on the mission, then hired someone to shoot him. Black Ops was Black Ops, after all. We were trying to find a way to link Ranger to the potassium in Vince's IV. If we could prove that he knew it would kill Vince, we can get him arrested. I couldn't believe we had to do the fucking cops jobs for them, but it was worth it. We were not going to let Ranger get away with trying to kill Vince or hurt Steph.

Our guys had been working for days trying to crack the firewall and security of Ranger's personal computer while he was conveniently out of the office harassing Steph. We discovered that he had been researching potassium chloride on the Internet. We had also found a coded and encrypted file that listed some of Ranger's contacts. I can't believe he kept this shit on his computer in the office. I guess he's so damn arrogant that he figured none of us would look for it.

"Hey, Woody, check this out," Cal called. I went to his computer screen, which was filled with names and numbers, emails and other contact information. " We figured Ranger had to have a contact at the hospital for him to know Steph was pregnant. Its likely that this same contact would have been the one to give him the information about the potassium, and possibly the vial itself."

" We got a list of employees in the ER, OR, and ICU of the hospital. Then, I checked it against Ranger's contacts. " Cal's face burst into smug smile. " One name is on both lists. Carter Norwich. ER tech. He has to be Ranger's informant."

Well, he didn't HAVE to be, but it did seem likely. I slapped Cal on the shoulder. " Nice job, man." Cal printed out the guys info and I got on the phone to the guys at the hospital.

Ram's POV

My phone buzzed right in the middle of us intimidating Ranger. I had gotten a text from Woody. He had found the name of one of Ranger's possible contacts at the hospital who might be able to help us pin this on him. Ranger had just finished talking about how we couldn't ever prove anything, so the timing was perfect. So ironic. Bobby's phone had gone off too, so I figured he'd gotten the same text.

I thought briefly about calling the cops, but they wouldn't be able to get information out of the guy. They had to follow rules and worry about violating civil rights and all that shit. We Rangeman didn't have to worry about that. And we weren't afraid to do what we had to in order to get someone to talk.

I figured that Bobby and Lester could handle Ranger, and hospital security was probably on the way, too, with all the commotion they were making. I signaled to Bobby that I was going to the ER with Zip.

We went to the ER desk , and found Carter Norwich. He was a fairly young guy, mid thirties. Slightly built, but wiry. He had a military tattoo on his arm, so maybe that was how he knew Ranger.

We did get a lot of looks, Two huge men in black, swaggering into the ER, apparently unhurt, but looking seriously pissed off. When Carter saw us, his eyes darted back and forth between the desk and the ground, never daring to look at us.

Zip and I swaggerd up to him, looking menacing, hoping we could scare the shit out of him quickly before we got thrown out of here. " You Carter Norwich?," Zip asked. It was just for clarification since Carter's name was clearly engraved on his name tag. Carter nodded, visibly gulped, and his eyes darted from our muscular bodies to the weapons in our utility belts. He nodded. " Are you cops or something?"

I gave him a lopsided, evil grin. " Or something. We need to talk to you about your association with Carlos "Ranger" Manoso."


	32. Chapter 32

Acceptance- Chapter 32

Only a couple more chapters. Please leave feedback, as I live for it.

Ram's POV

The look of terror in Carter Norwich's eyes was amusing. That rat bastard was putting up a tough front, but one look into his eyes told us he was about to shit himself.

"We need to talk to you about your association with Carlos Manoso, AKA: Ranger," Zip repeated, talking to Carter as if he were slow. Zip and I were definitely attracting attention. Really, how could we not? Two huge , lethal looking guys in black. We are huge, muscular, heavily armed, and have Special Forces tattoos.

Norwich was reaching for the inhouse phone, probably to call security. Good luck with that. Zip reached out and grabbed the phone, " Don't even think about it, asshole."

" I don't know nothin' about a Carlos Manoso," Carter stammered. Yeah, cause we were a couple of dumbasses who were going to believe that. Zip moved closer to him, his bulk encroaching on Norwich's personal space.

" Look, asshole, we are tired and really pissed off, so you don't want to fuck with us. We may want to go someplace a little more private."

Zip and I crowded him, forcing him to a nearby empty cubicle. " I want a lawyer," he whined.

I got right in his face. " And I want to beat the living shit out of you, but I am not going to get that , either. At least not yet. We aren't cops. You aren't getting a lawyer."

"Sit," Zip commanded, pointing to a chair. Little chicken shit was so scared he was practically shaking.

"Ok, we know you and Manoso have been talking regularly. We know that you told him a woman named Stephanie Plum was here to be examined for possible pregnancy."

"So what?," Norwich answered belligerently.

I moved my face within inches of his. " So that is illegal. It violates patient confidentiality laws. Not only will you be arrested for that, I can bet you will never get a job in another hospital with that on your record."

"Huh, man, don't…" Norwich stammered.

" But I am sure Ms. Plum will be willing to forget about that if you give us information about what else you talked to Manoso about."

Zip just stood right in front of Norwich, pegging him with a lethal glare that probably had Norwich wetting himself. That Zip is a young guy, and usually pretty easy going, but he can be a mean SOB when he wants to be. And he was pretty pissed off that this little shit gave Ranger the information he needed to try to kill Vince.

" Look asshole, you helped Manoso try to kill one of my best friends," Zip told him in a deadly calm voice.

" I…I don't know nothin' about no killing…", Norwich whined. " Manoso told me he needed the information for research. No one said nothing about a killing."

"Just tell us what else you told him, fucker," Zip was just itching to hit the bastard.

" He asked me how to kill someone who was in a hospital on an IV."

" And that didn't set off any alarm bells in your douche brain?," Zip yelled.

" No, he said it was research. I told him that if someone was on an IV, you could put potassium in to their IV and it will cause a cardiac arrest that is resistant to resuscitation. No one knows what happened until after the person is dead."

"How much did he give you?",

"He paid me $5,000 for that information and $1,000 for the stuff about the woman."

" Did you sell him the vial of potassium?"

" Hell, no. I'd get fired if I took it from here. But I gave him the name of a place where he could get it."

Zip leaned over Norwich , who cringed back, and jumped up. " Here is what is going to happen. You are going to come with us to the police station and give your statement to the cops. And, if necessary, you will testify to what you told us in a court of law."

" You aint cops, I don't have to go nowhere with you." Norwich apparently has shit for brains to piss Zip off like that. Zip backed him up against the wall, and got right in his face. Shit. If Zip decides to beat the shit out of this guy, I am not sure I can stop him.

But Zip just speaks to him in a quiet voice. He pointed to his Special Forces tattoo on his arm. " See this? It means I have training in 100 ways to kill someone, most of which involve more pain than you can imagine". Norwich stood shakily, and went with Zip and I to the cop shop to make a statement.

Bobby's POV

Lester and I have spent the last hour or so trying to convince Ranger that he should just go away since he wasn't getting to Vince or Steph, so he might as well go home. He was pretty pissed off, so there is no telling what he might do.

Hal came in, a look of triumph on his face. "The threat he made against Steph and his harassing her was enough to get a restraining order against him. He can't come within 500 feet of her."

At least that was some help. But he could still make her miserable. 'What about Vince?"

Hal scowled. " They said there was no threat made against him and no evidence that Ranger is a threat to him."

Great. Ranger tries to fucking kill Vince, but there is no "proof."

I stepped into Vince's room to check on him and Steph. She was asleep in the chair next to him, her head on the bed. Vince's eyes were closed, but when he heard me come in, they opened.

" Is Ranger gone?" he asked me.

"Yeah, dude. Don't worry. We got a restraining order against him for Steph. But they didn't give us one for you."

" I am more worried about him hurting her , anyway, especially since he knows she is pregnant. " He motioned toward Steph.

" She can't be getting much rest that way. Can one of the guys take her home?," he asked. I could tell that he wanted to talk about things he didn't want her to hear.

I gently touched her shoulder. " Steph, you need to go get some real rest. This sleeping in a chair is not restful."

"But, I don't want…"

Vince smiled, " if I promise to do nothing but go to sleep, will you go home and get some sleep in your own bed?"

She looked hesitant. " The guys will be here with me, " Vince assured her. "You can go sleep in your own bed and imagine what we'll do in it when I get out of here."

She grinned at that . I called Lester to take her home and stay with her.

Once she was gone, I sat down next to Vince. I knew he wanted to talk to me.

" Do we have any proof against Ranger?"

I told him what we had found out about Ranger's role in Vince's deployment.

" That fucking bastard. He has been my friend for years. Now he wants to kill me to get Steph? He treated her like shit for so long, and then, when she lets him go and moves on, he tries to kill me. Fucker."

" Problem is, we can't get any proof. At least not that he got you sent on the mission."

Vince's eyes took a faraway look. " I didn't see who shot me, but I did see an extra sniper with an American made rifle. But I sure as fuck remember Ranger putting that shit in my IV. "

" Zip and Ram went to talk to someone we think may be his contact here at the ER."

Vince gave me a serious look. " Hey, thanks, man, for taking such good care of Steph. I know, with me getting shot and her being pregnant, it was probably more than you bargained for. I owe you one."

" No problem dude. But you put us through some serious hell, man. We were worried as shit. You coded twice and Steph freaked both times. Scared the hell out of me too. " I wasn't afraid to admit that I had been scared that I would lose my best friend.

" By the way, is she really ok, her and the baby?"

" I think so. I had her examined at the ER, but she hasn't seen her regular doctor yet. She has been vomiting a lot, and fainted a couple times, mostly from stress. But I think she is healthy."

I really wanted to ask him how he felt about his sudden impending fatherhood, but I wasn't about to ask.

Steph's POV- next morning

When I got to the hospital this morning, there were two pieces of good news. First, there was now a restraining order against Ranger coming within 500 feet of me. That was good for me, but I worried about Vince. After all, he is the one Ranger tried to kill. But I knew that the guys wouldn't let Ranger anywhere near Vince.

The second piece of good news was that they were moving Vince out of ICU and into a regular room. I waited with Mrs. Sonterra while the nurses got Vince set up in his new room. I still didn't know Vince's mom very well, but so far I liked her. And she would soon be the grandmother to our child, so, I guess I better get to know her. Our child. My .

" How are you holding up, Stephanie?", she put her hand on my arm. She was so poised and classy. " I'm fine Mrs. Sonterra."

"It's Emily, dear."

" Ok, Emily. I am holding up well. But how do you do it? I mean, Mr. Sonterra was in the military for a long time. How did you deal with all the risks? Didn't you ever want him to stop? I mean, Vince does elite Black Ops. If we ever have children and he is away…"

"Stephanie, I understand your worries. Vince is a lot like his father. Very strong, stubborn, and he loves adventure. He also loves making a difference. I'd imagine that is why Vince is still in the Reserves, when he doesn't have to be. Did it ever bother me? Yes, absolutely. But the military is a large part of what makes Tony who he is. It is the same with Vince. The military is his life. "

"Did Tony ever get hurt?"

" Not nearly as badly as this. And Yes I worried. If you think it is hard to see the man you love this way, imagine seeing your son this way. But Vince is the best at what he does, that is why he has to do it. He is careful and he doesn't take unnecessary risks. Yes, things like this can happen, but really , anything can happen to anyone anywhere. I know it will be hard, and you will worry, but you will have to trust Vince and his abilities."

I was sure I was really going to like this woman.

Woody's POV

We finally got those asshole cops to listen to us, now that we did most of their work for them. I mean, Zip and Ram practically handed them Carter Norwich and his testimony against Ranger. The vial of potassium didn't have any fingerprints on it. Hal and Binky went to the pharmaceutical supply place that Carter Norwich told Ranger about to see if they could get any evidence there.

Fucking cops. We were doing their goddamn jobs for them. We insisted that the cops come interview Vince again about what he heard Ranger say.

Vince was in his regular, private room, looking a hell of a lot better than I expected. Lester had taken Steph to the diner across the street to get some lunch. We didn't want her to hear any of this. She had enough stress, she didn't need any more, with the baby and all.

Vince was telling the cop the same story for the third damn time.

"So, I saw Ranger go to my IV. He thought I was asleep. He said, "this should take care of it" then I saw him inject something into my IV."

" That was the potassium that he KNEW would cause Vince to go into cardiac arrest," Bobby interrupted.

The cop was unconvinced, " Mr. Sonterra, you were badly injured. Are you sure you remember accurately?"

" Of course I am fucking sure. I heard him say it , then inject the IV, then I passed out.

" Mr. Sonterra, we were told you may have a possible memory loss from possible oxygen deprivation".

Vince looked like he was going to get out of the bed and strangle the cop. " I do not have ANY memory loss. I remember the mission I was on, I remember the first time I woke up in the hospital, and I remember clearly Ranger's actions. "

"Besides, the doctors did an EEG, and found no brain damage from oxygen deprivation. I am sure Vince would consent to have that test released if the cops want it," Bobby said.

I was fucking pissed that this cop was still so reluctant to arrest Ranger. Were they fucking scared of him?

" Look, now you have the statement from Carter Norwich that he told Ranger that the potassium would cause cardiac arrest. You have the vial. You have Vince's recollection. Ranger said, " this should take care of it", meaning he knew that the potassium would kill Vince. Ranger has made statements that he wants Stephanie back from Vince and that Vince was in his way. And ,we are even checking out the place where Ranger purchased the potassium. We have done every goddamn thing for you but dress you in the morning. All the fuck you have to do is arrest Ranger."

Geezus H. Christ, that was probably the most I've ever said at once in a long time, but this asshole was really pissing me off.

" We'll look into it," Was all he said, and left Vince's room.

Steph's POV

Vince has only been in a private room for a day. Now that he is feeling better, he has earned a reputation as a "terrible patient." He got all macho and refused pain meds since they make him 'too groggy." He complained that the food is " worse than military shit," and has been threatening to check himself out of here AMA ( against medical advice). He insists that I lie in bed next to him. He should be getting out of bed sparingly, but resting a lot. Not Vince. He is always out of bed, and has to be forced to lie back down and rest.

We haven't talked too much about the baby, or the future. I think we just want to get the situation with Ranger squared away first.

Tank's POV

For the last few days, Ranger has just hung out in his office. He is so arrogant he isn't even worried that we will get proof he tried to kill Vince. He was really pissed at the restraining order barring him from getting within 500 feet of Steph, but he didn't say anything about it.

I got a call from Hal down at the front desk that the cops were back. He escorted them to Ranger's office. I knocked on his door.

"Ranger, the cops are here to see you."

Ranger came out, a benevolent smile on his face. "What can I do for you detectives," he said, smiling arrogantly.

The cops stepped up to him and flashed their badges. . " You can put your weapons on the table." Before Ranger could comply, they slapped a pair of handcuffs on him. One detective took his gun and other weapons. While the other said, " You are under arrest for the attempted murder of Vincent Sonterra," and read him his rights.

I am only sorry that Vince and Steph couldn't see the look of absolute shock and indignation on Ranger's face when the cops pulled him out of the office. But they can see the next best thing, since Hal took a picture on his cell phone. I bet all the guys want copies of that.


	33. Chapter 33

Acceptance- Chapter 33

Only a chapter or two left to go. Please leave reviews, as I live for them.

Tank's POV

Ranger getting arrested was momentous, but it wasn't quiet. Once they cuffed him and started reading him his rights, he got belligerent and cocky.

" I can't believe you have the balls to arrest ME. A puny little city cop thinks he can take ME. I can take guys like you with my bare hands." Ranger exclaimed, still so cocky.

The cops weren't impressed. " Careful, Manoso, that sounded an awful lot like a threat," the cop replied.

Ranger did not make it easy for them to wrestle him downstairs, even on the elevator. He kept trying to push them against the walls.

" You do know that I will be out of jail almost as soon as you put me in it," he told the cop. "Tank, call my lawyer and have him meet us there."

Shit. Well, I was still technically his employee, so I did call the lawyer. But I pretended that I didn't know what the charges were and implied that it wasn't really a huge hurry to get there.

By the time they got Ranger downstairs to the cop car, pretty much all the guys who were in the building, as well as some of the people in the neighboring buildings, had come to see the commotion. The great Ranger Manoso being put in the back of a cop car. Hal took more pictures or taped it on his phone. I was pretty sure we were witnessing something very few people had ever seen. Hopefully, this was only the beginning of Ranger's humiliation.

Steph's POV

Vince is being really cranky about being here. He wants to go HOME. But they won't release him until they are sure there won't be some infection or something. I want Vince out of here, too, but I am not going to chance a setback. Vince is so strong, even though he's been shot, but I know he is embarrassed because I am seeing him "weak." It's a testosterone thing. Men, especially macho ex Special Forces guys, can't let anyone see them at anything less than their best.

Bobby has scheduled an appointment with me with my regular OB/GYN. I think he planned the time with Vince so that it would coincide with Vince's stumbling around out of bed. I didn't want to leave Vince, though.

" Steph, honey, you are, what , 8 weeks along, and you haven't really seen a doctor yet? You need to do that ASAP, and I can't go with you right now."

" Why can't we wait until you are well enough to go," I kinda whined.

He took my face and looked me straight in the eye. " Steph, you have spent weeks here with me. Not really taking care of yourself. I want you and our baby to be healthy, so you need to get some regular prenatal care ASAP. Bobby will take you, and I can go with you next time. But I definitely want ot hear everything the doctor says."

I put my head down and felt tears starting to flow down my cheeks. Damn, I was so weepy all the time. Vince hated when I cried, but I couldn't seem to stop, with the pregnancy hormones and all.

Ranger's POV

I couldn't believe these cops had the fucking balls to arrest me. They had to know that I would be out of here in no time. Did they actually think they could put me, Carlos Manoso, in a cell? The cops got me down to central, and I went through the booking process. Damn. Where the fuck was my lawyer? He was taking his fucking time. A couple of the guys had followed in an SUV to see if they could "help" with anything. Fuckers. They think I didn't know they were taking pictures of me on their cellphones.

I can see the captions for these photos, " Ranger gets printed," and "Ranger's mugshot."

Fuck. I try to fix my hair so I will look like a damn badass in my mugshot.

My fucking lawyer FINALLY shows up. " Get me the fuck out of here," I told him. This was fucking humiliating.

I get hauled into a room with Mr. Weber, my lawyer. He says, " They are arresting you for attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder, and now, resisting arrest."

" They don't have any proof of anything," I tell him. Fuckers. They would never prove that I hired someone to have Vince shot on a Black Ops mission.

" I also believe there is a restraining order against you regarding Stephanie Plum. You have threatened her and her unborn child in the past. THAT doesn't look good."

" Look, just tell me how the fuck much bail is and lets get the fuck out of here."

"Ok, we have to wait for your arraignment. I think bail is going to be high, " he said. Like I fucking care.

Steph's POV

Bobby drove me back from the OB/GYN. The appointment had gone well. We stopped so I could get some "real food." I was still nauseous, so I just got some soup.

" Sweetie, you're awfully quiet," Bobby said. " You should be thrilled. The doc said that you and the baby are both healthy, Vince is getting better. " His cell went off.

"Brown." He listened for a minute, then his handsome face broke into a smile.

"Steph, something else to be happy about. They just arrested Ranger for trying to kill Vince."

"Bobby, you'd be honest with me wouldn't you?"

He touched my hand. "Sweetie, I have been honest with you about this situation from the beginning. What are you so upset about?"

" Well, you and Vince are friends. Do you, um, well, do you think he wants the baby? I mean, we haven't been together very long. And we've never talked about kids. Then suddenly I'm pregnant. What if he doesn't want me, or the baby." Fuck. I was in tears again. Poor Bobby, always having to deal with my tears. He hugged me.

"Look, Steph, Vince just woke up awhile ago. You've both been busy with this avoiding Ranger shit. There really hasn't been much time to talk, has there?" I shook my head.

I wasn't done worrying. "I know Vince is a good man, and I knew that he'll accept responsibility for this baby. He might even marry me to give the baby a name. But I am terrified that he'll do it because he feels obligated to, not because he wants to. I wanted him to want me, and the baby. "

Bobby smiled. " Vince and I have been friends for a long time. I trust him with my life. He's a good man. You need to talk to him about this. I can't speak for what he wants, but I can say that I have never seen him so happy and content as when he is with you. Trust him."

Bobby dropped me off at the hospital, and I made a pit stop in the ladies room for yet another puke-fest. I will be so glad when this fucking morning sickness is gone. I got to Vince's room, and the nurse was just settling him back down in bed.

As soon as we were alone, I went to the bed, and put my head down next to him.

" How did the doctor visit go? Are you and the baby ok?", he asked, stroking my hair.

" Yep. I am eight weeks along, so in another six months you'll be a daddy." I watched him to judge his reaction, but I couldn't really tell by his face what he was thinking.

He moved over in the narrow bed, and pulled me up next to him. I lay down next to him. I put my head on his shoulder, trying to avoid the few wires that were still attached to him. I was afraid to get too close because I didn't want to hurt him, but he held me close to him.

We lay there quietly for a few minutes, his hand stroking my hair. My head was on his shoulder and I could hear his now strong heartbeat under my ear. I thought back to the two times that it had stopped and I shuddered, thinking how close I had come to losing him. His grip tightened around me.

I lay there, fidgeting, trying to decide how to start the conversation. Vince was calm, barely moving, just stroking me. I leaned into his warmth. Even after being seriously hurt, almost killed, he was stills so strong, steady , and comforting to me. I get the feeling when I am in Vince's arms that nothing bad will ever happen to me again, as long as I am in his arms.

"Steph, what's wrong?", he asked. He is more attuned to my moods than I am.

"nothing." I traced the Special Ops tattoo on his forearm.

" Everything is really ok with you and the baby?," he asked, probing, forcing me to come out with whatever I was upset about. Did I mention that Vince never lets me avoid things or deny them? He makes me face them head on.

" I just…, I am a little worried. I mean, you and I haven't been together all that long and , well, I know you like your independence, and…"

"Steph-" he prodded, forcing me to get to the point.

" I am worried that maybe you won't want me or the baby. I mean, it is kind of a surprise. We just got together not too long ago, and we always used birth control, so I assumed that you didn't want kids."I mean, We never really talked about it. We never really even talked about US long term. I know you are an independent guy and you might not want a baby around , or even me, really. I mean, I know you enjoy being with me and all, but I don't want you to be with me because you feel obligated to. " And I know you'll be a great dad, but what if I make a terrible mother. I mean, I can barely take care of a hamster, let alone a ba-"

Vince 's lips covered mine and he stopped my rambling with the sweetest, most tender kiss. God damn, that man could kiss. His huge, strong hand splayed gently over my abdomen. I felt all my worries leave me as Vince's gentle kiss calmed me. There was no doubt from that kiss that he did want me, and not just for sex. I can't believe I ever thought I loved Ranger. What I felt in Ranger's arms had been just physical. It was nothing compared to having Vince's arms around me

I finally pulled away, breathless. He's the injured one and he wasn't even winded from the kiss. He forced me head up so I would have to look at him. " Honey, of course I want you and the baby. True, it is a bit of a shock. I want kids, but had planned that we would wait a year or so. But I am thrilled. If you recall, I have been waiting for you to realize your feelings for me, NOT the other way around."

He stopped and kissed me again.

" As for the future, well, who knows? We may not even have jobs when Ranger gets arrested. But I do want to have this baby with you. I don't care if it's a boy or a girl, as long as its healthy and you are healthy. I do want us to get married, so that both of you can be Sonterras, and so you can get my military insurance , because who knows what will happen with Rangeman."

"Sounds like a good plan," I said, and kissed him again. We were interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

The door opened , and Mr. And Mrs. Sonterra walked in. I stiffened, and I jumped out of the bed. Mrs. Sonterra came running over to Vince. " Vince, dear, you look so much better. We were so worried about you." She kissed him and then Mr. Sonterra shook his hand. Vince took my hand with his other one. " Mom, Dad, I know you have met Stephanie. She and I have been together for a few months now."

Mrs. Sonterra smiled. Damn. I want to be that gorgeous when I am her age. " Honey, she has been so devoted to you. She never left your bedside when you were unconscious, even when she was so ill herself."

She stopped and looked back and forth between Vince's grinning face and mine. Vince, brave guy that he is, jumped right in. "Well, Mom, Dad, about that. I am really glad that you like her, because she and I are going to have a baby."

The elder Sonterras looked startled for a moment, then his mother broke into a smile. She kissed Vince's cheek again. "Vince, honey. Stephanie. Congratulations!" She came across the bed and gave me a kiss on the cheek. " Tony, Our first grandchild!"

She looked at me. "That explains why you were so sick. Why the other guys treated you so carefully. You were so busy taking care of Vince, now you have to let Vince take care of you." Vince gave me a "See, I told you so" look. He'd known his parents would accept the baby. They didn't ask about a wedding or anything, which was good, because we weren't sure of anything about that yet.

Vince's POV

I was glad that my parents came in. I knew once Steph and I told them about the baby, she'd feel better. There was no question they would accept her. Why wouldn't they? Mom insisted that Steph sit in the comfiest chair, and she held one of my hands. Mom sat on the other side, holding the other one. I am not usually quite so hand holdy, but I knew they both wanted to touch me- reassurance that I was ok. They both had been worried. They had just settled in, Dad leaning against the wall, when Bobby came bursting in.

Bobby looked at us, embarrassed that he had interrupted a family scene. "Um, Vince, Steph, Mr. & Mrs. Sonterra, sorry to interrupt, but there is something you HAVE to see."

Bobby grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Channel 4 Live Action news was on. That stupid annoying anchorwoman with the blindingly white teeth, was talking.

" _And in other news, local businessman and owner of Rangean Security, Carlos "Ranger " Manoso, was arrested today for attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder."_

As she spoke, they showed footage that looked like it was taken from a cellphone camera of Ranger being manhandled out of the Rangman building and into the back of a cop car. He looked beyond furious, and it worried me. This would really piss him off, so I hoped they could keep him in jail.

A reporter was now standing outside the Rangeman building. , "_Mr. Manoso, in addition to owning Rangeman security, is also a bounty hunter. H e is accused of trying to murder one of his friends in a reported love triangle. There has been no official statement from Rangeman security. This is Suzanne Blakely for Channel 4 Live Action News. "_

"Holy shit," I said, totally forgetting that Mom was in the room. " Who would imagine the great Ranger Manoso, hauled off to prison like a common thug." I couldn't help but smile.

Steph looked relieved. "Well, he deserves it. He tried to kill you twice. Only once that we can prove though. " Mom and Dad looked confused, so apparently no one told them the whole story. Good thing, too. Dad looked like he was going to spit nails.

"Isn't that your boss? Your friend Ranger? And he tried to KILL you?," Shit. Dad might be retired, but Special Forces was Special Forces. He could probably still kill barehanded if he wanted to. The room got think with tension again.

Bobby interrupted the tension, a huge smile suddenly on his face. "Wait, there's more. You HAVE to see this."

He pulled out a laptop with a wireless Internet connection. As he pulled up the internet, he spoke delightedly. " See, Hal had his cellphone when they arrested Ranger."

There it was, on YOUTUBE. That Hal was a brave and devious man. Under the caption,

"Special Forces bounty hunter arrested"

The video, complete with sound showed Ranger being cuffed, and trying to shove cops against the walls while being wrestled down into the cop car, he was yelling something, but it was too muffled to tell what it was. The video also showed him being printed and booked. Shit, how had Hal gotten THAT. How humiliating.

The video had only been up for an hour or so and already had 5,000 hits. Hal was a genius for making Ranger pay back for all the suffering he put us through. He deserved it.

Ranger was a YOUTUBE sensation.

Bobby grinned and played the video again, and we all laughed.


	34. Chapter 34

Acceptance- Chapter 34

Ok, just two more chapters after this one. Please leave reviews, as I live for them.

Ranger's POV

I sat in a damn uncomfortable chair, trying to resist the urge to give the judge bad looks as my lawyer, Mr. Weber, tried to get bail reduced.

"Mr. Manoso is not a flight risk. He a businessman with ties to the community . he has no previous arrests." At least , not official ones, I thought.

The DA interrupted, " Mr. Manoso is accused of trying to murder his friend., He has several fake addresses and fake IDs. He is a flight risk. He has businesses in other cities, and has been known to disappear with no notice for undetermined time periods. He has no family ties to the New Jersey area. In addition, Mr. Manoso has extensive Special Forces military training, which would enable him to know how to hide out and flee from authorities. In addition, he has personal and professional contacts in several other countries. He is a huge flight risk."

The judge, that bastard, agreed, " Mr. Manoso has been determined to be a flight risk. He will surrender his passport and he must have permission to leave the state. He must obey the restraining order regarding Ms. Plum, and the one regarding Mr. Sonterra. Bail is set at $500,000."

I tried to keep the grin off my face. Sure, $50,000 is a shitload of money, and it pisses me off to have to pay it. But I have it and I'll be out of here in a few hours.

My men, fuckers, are going to pay for that YouTube shit. I made sure Mr. Weber contacted Youtube to get that damn video removed. Plus, I wanted to file civil charges against Hal for slander. After all, he posted the video to ruin my reputation.

Vince's POV

I am finally out of that goddamn hospital. They wanted me to stay, something about wound care, but I have had it with that place. I can feel my muscles atrophying just lying around there. I signed myself out AMA ( against medical advice.) Steph didn't want me to check out , but she gave in when Bobby promised to examine my wound every day. She has been fussing over me constantly. I know its probably because she is still scared from me getting shot and the pregnancy hormones and all, so I didn't protest. But its driving me up a fucking wall.

I have been staying at Steph's townhouse, since my apartment is at Rangeman. I am not about to go anywhere that Ranger can get to me. He tried to kill me twice, I wouldn't put it past him to try again. Especially now that he's pissed about getting arrested.

Steph is lying next to me in her bed. I promised to take a nap with her, but she's the only one who fell asleep. I am glad that she is finally sleeping. She didn't get much when I was sick.

This is the first quiet moment I've gotten recently to think. For the moment it is quiet, just the sound of Steph's soft breathing filling the room. So much has happened in the past few weeks.

My mind wandered back to the mission, trying to recall any details that I could.

I wondered why I was going in with a different infiltration team. Now I know that Ranger got me to replace the team's sniper so that he could pay someone to shoot me. I tried to remember the end of the mission. The team had just finished the mission, I was providing cover for their retreat back into the copter when I saw that sniper with the American made rifle. I wondered what the hell he was doing there, since he wasn't part of the team. Then the intense pain when the bullet penetrated my Kevlar. I strained to remember anything I could about that sniper that might connect him to Ranger. Even if I did, Black Ops is Black Ops, and there is no way I can prove anything.

I had called my CO from the mission, because I still had to debrief , and maybe he would have more info for me.

I can't believe that Ranger tried to kill me, TWICE. He paid someone to go all the way to the fucking Middle East to kill me on a mission, I guess to make it look like an accident. That took a lot of work, a lot of energy. Ranger and I have been friends for years. We've been through some fucking horrible shit together. I can't believe he'd turn on me like that.

Then, I woke up in the hospital, and see Ranger deliberately try to kill me again.

Then I find out that Steph is pregnant. I am not sure how I feel about that. I love Steph, and I wanted kids eventually, but I wouldn't have picked this time. Steph and I haven't been together all that long. But it has happened, and now that it has, I just want Steph and the baby to be healthy.

I stretched carefully, then slid out of bed, trying not to disturb Steph. I needed to get moving.

I needed to get over to Rangeman and into the gym to gt myself back into shape. I left Steph a note and headed over to Rangeman to work out in the gym.

Ranger's POV

$50,000. Fifty fucking thousand dollars. That's how fucking much I had to come up with to get out of jail. Not that I can't get ahold of that much money, it just seems like, well, what a waste.

Of course, the first thing I did when I left jail was go to Rangeman. I know, there is the possibility of Steph or Vince being there, but too fucking bad. They'll have to leave, then. Rangeman is my building.

I got to the control room, and the men, MY men, my EMPLOYEES, are all looking at me like a fucking criminal. As soon as I walk in, Lester gets on the phone, whispering. The few guys who were in the control room went off all of a sudden, trying to make themselves busy elsewhere.

Tank is the only one with the balls to come out and talk to me. " Boss".

"Vince and Steph aren't around here, are they? I wouldn't want to come within 500 feet of them, you know," I said in the most sarcastic tone I could.

" No, they aren't around here, boss."

I stormed past him and headed for my office. Hal tried to blend into the wall, but for a guy his size, that was impossible.

" Hal, you are fired for that youtube shit. Get the hell out of my building."

Hal looked me in the eye, furious, and for a minute, I thought he might try to hit me, but then, he backed off. Well, did he think I wouldn't fire him?

Tank whispered, " Boss, you don't want to…" but I went into my office and shut the door behind me.

Tank went over and whispered something to Hal, who dumped his gun and cell and took off.

Steph's POV

I woke up alone in my bed. Vince's note was on the bedside table. I knew he wanted to get back into shape , but I worried about him doing too much too soon. I couldn't forget that he had almost died.

I got to the weightroom at Rangeman and saw Vince, shirtless, doing squat presses. His chest still held a puckered, angry wound, partially healed. I couldn't believe how incredible he looked, even so recently wounded. He saw me and lit up the entire room with his smile.

" Hey, baby, did you sleep well?, " he asked. I grinned and sidled up to sit on a bench next to the weight set. He released the weights and kissed me hard and long before picking up the weights again.

I couldn't stop staring at that angry wound. " Should you be using weights? I mean, you don' t want to hurt yourself."

" I have to get my muscle strength back."

" Vince, you almost DIED,"

"But I didn't."

"But you could have, you almost did."

He put down the weights and took my face in his hands. "Steph, it didn't happen. It could have happened, it almost happened, but it didn't." He got up from the squat press and held me in his arms. Even when he wasn't 100%, he was still so steady and stable and radiated calm.

I don't know what was wrong with me, pregnancy hormones or what, but I couldn't stop thinking how close he had almost come to dying. I couldn't get over the feeling I had when I thought he was dead.

He was holding me when his cell phone, clipped to his pants, buzzed.

He answered it, still holding me.

" Yes, sir. I can be there this evening , sir. I'll be there."

He closed the phone and I looked at him questioningly.

" That was the CO from the mission. Now that I am able, he wants me to meet with him this evening to debrief the mission."

" Oh. Well, don't forget to tell him that you aren't going to do any more missions."

Vince looked at me, surprised.

"You aren't officially enlisted, you can stop whenever you want to , right? We are going to have a baby. I assumed that you would stop with the dangerous missions. I mean, you can't be running around in Iraq or wherever when you have a child. Its dangerous. You could get killed. You c an't do that when you have a family. " I could hear my voice rising in pitch as I went on.

Vince's beautiful eyes pegged me with a glittering look I hadn't seen before.

" You want me to stop being in the reserves because its dangerous? Honey, its what I do. I am the best there is at what I do. Yes, it can be dangerous. Its no different from being a cop or a firefighter. Those are dangerous jobs. They never know when they leave the house if they are coming home alive. Yet they have families. "

"But…"

"Steph, we are in a war. There are thousands of people doing it who don't have a choice. I have a unique skill that is desperately needed to save lives, and I can't just ignore that. We plan our missions carefully, prepare well, and we don't take foolish risks. "

"But you still got shot, you almost got killed. And you have a choice."

"I could get killed crossing the street, too. Or driving my car. Things happen. I hate to bring it up, but since we've never actually talked about it, YOU almost got killed several months ago because you DIDN'T plan."

By now I was crying, and Vince took my head in his hands. " Honey, you have to trust me. I love you. I know you are scared about what happened. I'm sorry I gave you reason to be scared. I know exactly how you feel, because I was scared when you got shot. Believe me, I don't want to die any more than you want me to. But you have to accept that I know what I am doing. You have to trust me. "

I could feel the tears gushing, unstoppable, down my face.

" I know there are lots of guys that have to do it. But I don't want it to be you. You have a choice. I can't go through that again, Vince. What if you really do die next time? I can't do that again."

I was crying loudly now, and Vince held me, one big hand resting on my belly. Part of me wanted to stay in the warmth of his arms forever, but I needed to think.

I gently broke apart from his arms and sniffling softly, I went back into the elevator.

Ranger's POV

Apparently, my men have forgotten that when my fucking door is closed, I don't want to be bothered. Tank put his head in the door. "Boss, we have a problem."

What fucking now.

"We've had several clients cancel their contracts with us since the reports came out of your arrest."

" I am sure the goddamn youtube video didn't help either," I added, sarcastically.

My fucking business is about to implode because Vince can't keep his goddamn hands off what is mine.

"Well, I guess I'll have to scale back. Tell Stephanie and Vince that they are fired, too. After all, I will apparently need the money for my goddamn lawyer."

"Have the remaining guys service the accounts that are left."

"I have to go meet with my lawyer," I said, walking out of the room.

Steph's POV

I was sitting on the front porch of the townhouse, staring into the darkness. Vince was still at his meeting with his military CO guy. I loved Vince, but I didn't understand why he still wanted to continue in the Reserves, now that he had a family.

I saw Bobby approach out of the corner of my eye. "Hey, sweetie, you've been out here awhile. Are you ok?" Bobby had apparently been watching me sit here on the security camera feed into Rangeman.

He came and sat next to me on the porch, handing me a bottle of water.

" Did Vince tell you what happened?"

I shivered a little in the breeze. Bobby leaned back against the fence post and pulled me against him, giving me his warmth.

" You know, I know how you feel. Vince and I have been friends for years. I love him like a brother. When we first got to the hospital after Vince was shot, probably dying, I was worried, but part of me was pissed at him. He insisted on being in the Reserves and now he is probably dying, leaving me to take care of you, and his parents, and all the other shit. But then I remembered who he i s. All of us were in the military, but we did our time, saw our combat, and got out. Vince knows that he is the best there is. He knows that there is still a need for his skills, that he can help prevent some soldiers from getting killed. He can't just stay out of it. He knows he's needed and is compelled to help. Its who he is. "

Bobby was talking more than I'd ever heard him talk.

"Yes, its dangerous. But Vince plans well, and he doesn't take unnecessary risks. Shit can happen though. Remember, Vince wouldn't have gotten shot if it hadn't been for the guy Ranger sent. The enemy was not an issue.I know Vince loves you. And I bet, if you really insisted, he'd quit. He doesn't want you and the baby to be miserable. But before you do that, you'd better think hard about the kind of guy Vince is and whether you want him to give up so much of who and what he is."

I sat on the porch, Bobby's arms around me, until Vince's headlights pulled into the drive.

He did that guy shake thing with Bobby, then I hugged Vince and we went to bed.

Tank's POV

This morning sucks. Rangeman just lost two more clients. So far, we had lost about a third of our clients.. They didn't want security from a company run by an apparent thug who was accused of murder.

We would service the accounts that were left, but that would only take a few guys. The rest were going to lose their jobs. Ranger had already fired Steph, Vince , and Hal.

I sat down heavily in the chair next to Bobby, who had just come into my office.

"What the fuck are we going to do? That bastard Ranger is ruining the whole damn company. "

Bobby sighed. Fuck. We were partners with Ranger in Rangeman. We each own 25% of the company, but Ranger owned half. He basically could do whatever the fuck he wanted. Most of the time, what he did was smart and sensible, but since he came back from Miami, it seems his mission is to drive Rangeman into the ground.

He ruined the company's reputation, fired Hal and Vince, two of our best people, and God only knew what else.

I already had a headache, and it wasn't even 10:00am.

" The only thing we can do is try to get Ranger to sell his half, then find someone with the money to buy it."

Bobby added, "THEN we have to repair its reputation, and, when Ranger goes to trial, Rangeman will be all over the news. And then we won't get clients or guys to work for us."

We were so fucked.


	35. Chapter 35

Acceptance- Chapter 35

_I have decided that this story might become a bit longer than planned, I had a couple places I wanted to take it. Please leave reviews, as I live for them._

Tank's POV

Everything was going to shit at Rangeman. We had lost over a third of our clients due to Ranger's little stint of popularity on the news and on youtube. I guess no companies out there want to get their security systems from a company run by a man accused of trying to murder his best friend in a "sordid love triangle" as the papers called it.

Ranger has been in and out of the company, even more taciturn and belligerent than usual. He blames the collapse of his company on Vince, of course. That's Ranger, trying to blame someone else for what he did. Like Vince injected his own IV with the potassium or something.

Vince and Steph have both been fired from Rangeman, as have Hal and most of the others. Only Bobby, Lester, and I are still here working accounts. Ranger has been in and out, between here and Miami. Its fine by me. The further away he is from there the better.

Bobby and I have been having a lot of meetings with lawyers, not just to prep for Ranger's trial, but to figure out what the hell we can do about Rangeman. We each own 25% of the company, so its failure means we lose money. I am not sure what will happen with Ranger's half. I can't imagine he won't liquidate it. He will need a lot of money for his legal defense.

Vince and Steph are living in the townhouse. Vince is having to pay for it, since Rangeman can no longer afford to. That is better, anyway, since then Ranger can't yank it out from under them. Even though there is a restraining order protecting both Vince and Steph, I don't believe they will ever be safe from Ranger. Especially not once his trial starts.

Steph's POV

I had fallen asleep in the car and when I opened my eyes, I took time to admire Vince's strong profile. Everything has been in such upheaval for the last week or so, it was nice to have quiet time just to look at him. Ranger has fired us and a lot of the guys from Rangeman, and who knew what would happen to the company.

In spite of everything, I felt calm and reassured. Like it was all going to be ok. That was because Vince was with me. He was so strong and his steadiness and calm rolled over me like waves. I felt like it didn't matter what happened, everything was going to be ok, because Vince is here. Right now, one of his huge hands is on the steering wheel as we drive to Atlantic City. The other hand grasps mine and engulfs me in his warmth.

"Hey, sweetie," He whispers, squeezing my hand.

" Are you sure you are ready for this,? " I ask. I mean , it was pretty sudden.

Vince turns his head. I couldn't see his eyes through the dark shades we wore, but he gave me that beautiful smile that always makes my breath catch.

"Sweetie, I am more than ready for this. I want you to be my wife and the baby to be my legal son." He put his hand on the mound that had started to form in my abdomen. He kept calling the child "his son" but we really didn't know the sex yet. We both wanted to be surprised.

"You aren't just doing this because of, you know, Ranger?"

He gave me a look, and I was pretty sure that if I could see his eyes they'd have been boring into me. He was always so direct and honest. No games or bullshitting from him.

"I'm doing it because I love you and junior." He glanced at the road briefly, then back at me. " Yes, Ranger does factor in though. If you are married to me, it keeps you safer from him. "

Hence the drive to Atlantic City for a quickie wedding. Bobby and Hal were also going, in another car, to be our guests and witnesses. I knew Vince's parents would want to see him get married, and God knows, mine want to see it, so we will probably have a more formal ceremony later. This one is much more urgent and immediate.

I also knew that Vince wanted to get married so that I could have access to his military insurance, since neither of us had Rangeman's any more. And it would provide me a lot of security financially. Vince's lawyer was meeting us in Atlantic City to go update some legal documents.

When Vince mentioned that he was putting me and the baby as beneficiaries in his will and life insurance I freaked out, and started to cry. I know it is probably stupid, but I am so emotional lately, and I am still traumatized by how close Vince came to death. I just started crying uncontrollably.

Vince is so amazing. He knew exactly how to handle me. He put down what he was doing, held me tightly against his huge chest, and let me cry. " Baby, nothing's going to happen to me, don't worry. Its standard procedure for a wife and child to be named on a life insurance policy and will. That way, if anything DID ever happen, you would be taken care of. " He held me for awhile, but he didn't let me get into that spiral of worrying that I get into about his safety.

The thought of Vince's will made me think of our arguments over his job in the Reserves. I didn't want him doing it now that we were having a baby. But I had come to the conclusion that he has to, for a number of reasons. First, he is the best in the world at what he does, and he gets a lot of soldiers out of difficult situations and home safely. I looked down through my slightly open eyes to his huge hand holding mine. That hand had pulled the trigger and killed to keep so many others safe. I didn't want to think of how many he had killed. He would kill and die to keep other safe, just like he would die for me, if he had to. But I knew that was part of him, just like his overwhelming need to protect me and keep me safe. Besides, neither of us had our jobs at Rangeman now, so the money and benefits were essential now. We needed the money and the insurance.

His thumb was gently stroking my wrist and that brought me back to the present, in the car. Rain was coming down gently on the windshield, very soft and soothing. I Put my head back on the headrest and closed my eyes. Vince pulled the small car throw over me, tucking it up around my shoulders. He gently stroked my hand as I closed my eyes.

Vince's POV

I am glad Steph is sleeping most of the way to Atlantic City. She has been tired a lot lately, probably because of the baby. I know she wants a big wedding ceremony with her parents and all her Burg friends, but that is going to have to wait. We need to get married quickly so she'll have the protection of being my wife. I want my child born a Sonterra, no matter what might happen to me.

There is a lot of shit happening that I have been shielding Steph from. Tank, Bobby, and I have been meeting with lawyers about Ranger's case. They have taken my deposition, and I am going to have to testify against him at his trial. I have no problem with that, the fucking bastard. But Steph will, too, and that will be upsetting for her. I have managed to keep the cops away from her for the most part, but eventually she WILL have to talk to them and get involved.

Then there is the shit happening at Rangeman. Tank and Bobby each own 25%. Ranger owns 50%. I have been meeting with the guys to see if there is some way we can pool our funds to buy him out. That assumes he'd sell. He will need the money for legal bills, but he is such a bastard he would refuse to sell just to spite us. Hal is interested, so is Ram, and so am I. If we can do this, we can make our own security company. Then I won't need to do missions for the reserves as much.

That is a bone of contention between Steph and I. I love the Reserves, and I don't want to quit. Now , with no Rangeman insurance, I have to work missions for them. Which is another reason for the quick wedding. I haven't told Steph yet, but I am going on a two week mission next week. It is relatively safe, not in a war zone, and just a training mission. I haven't told Steph because I don't want her worried or upset or having nightmares about it. I have to admit, it is harder to leave now that the baby is coming. Bobby has promised to watch over her for me, like he did last time. Although, he said if I put him through this time what I did last time, he would kill me himself.

I took my eyes of the road to watch Steph sleep. The baby is just a mound, rising from her abdomen. I worry about her, too. She is still always vomiting. It is scary to see that happen so much. Bobby and her doctor both say it is normal but it scares the hell out of me. So far, the pregnancy appears to be normal, except Steph has had some issues with high blood pressure. Probably from all the stress she's been under. Yet another reason to protect her from as much as I can.

Ranger's POV

I spend all my goddamn time anymore meeting with my lawyer. I hate lawyers, and mine better be worth the fortune I am spending on him. I fired most of the guys from my company and so I can use that money for my defense.

Mr. Weber tells me most of what they have can be construed as circumstantial. They have the vial, with no fingerprints, and the record of purchase. Supposedly they found some small fibers that can be traced back to my jacket on the vial. Big fucking deal, it can also be traced to about a million of the same kind of jackets that other people bought.

So far, the worst they have is Carter Norwich's testimony that he told me potassium would kill Vince, and Vince's memory of me putting it in the IV. Mr. Weber says those are the most damning things. They have also conducted several search warrants for my home and Rangeman properties in each city. THAT pissed me off. How dare those fuckers invade my privacy like that.

Vince's testimony is suspect, because he supposedly has "memory issues" , so Carter Norwich is really the only witness they have. But that can be taken care of. I still have contacts, people that will do whatever I tell them to. All I have to do is make a few phone calls, and that bastard Norwich will no longer be a problem. As for Vince and Steph, well, just because they are no longer working for me doesn't mean I don't know where they are.

Steph's POV

As soon as we checked into the hotel in Atlantic City, I took a nap. I had hours before the appointment with the JP, and I was always so exhausted. I got a wake up call in an hour, and started my preparations. It wasn't a traditional wedding, but it was still MY wedding and I wanted to look good. Vince had gotten another room, because he "wasn't supposed to see the bride before the wedding."

I found a beautiful ivory colored knee-length satin dress with a touch of lace. It was actually at a consignment store. It was "vintage" and I loved it. It was just big enough to accommodate my pregnancy mound. I had a pair of gold sandals, and some flowers in my hair. The doorbell rang. It was the concierge, with a huge box, from my "fiancé." Inside was the most beautiful bouquet of flowers I had ever seen. It had a lot of blue, to go with my eyes. The note said, " These flowers are to match your beautiful eyes. Love, Vince." I almost cried. How sweet is that? What guy would have through to make sure I had a bouquet for my wedding.

Bobby and Hal picked me up at my suite. They were both wearing dark suits. Hal is so huge he probably has to get his tailor made. And Bobby took my breath away. He was so handsome, almost as much as Vince. Their eyes lit up when I opened the door.

"Oh, honey, you look amazing," Bobby said, hugging me carefully, as if afraid to wrinkle my dress.

"steph, you do look beautiful," Hal stammered. He is always so shy.

They took me down to the chapel suite, where Vince was waiting in front of another man. Pachabel's Canon was playing softly, as I walked across the suite to Vince. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw Vince. He was the most beautiful man I had ever seen. He looked so damn hot in a dark grey suit, white shirt, and tie. The suit fit perfectly over his huge shoulders and chest. I though he looked sexy in his Rangeman uniform, but that was nothing compared to this. I wanted the wedding to be done so I could rip it off of him.

When he turned and saw me, the smoldering look in his eyes left no doubt as to his feelings for me. He looked mesmerized. When I got to him, he took my hand firmly in his and bent down to whisper," You look so beautiful. I love you." The rest of the short ceremony was a blur. I couldn't take my eyes off of Vince. I heard him promise to " love, honor, cherish , and protect," and I heard myself say something similar. Bobby handed Vince the rings- where the heck had he gotten those? Vince's large, warm hand covered my cold one as he put the ring on my finger. It was a little big because we both knew I'd be expanding. I took the ring and slid it on Vince's finger, my eyes looking deeply into his.

The JP pronounced us , "Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Sonterra" and Bobby and Hal clapped wildly and hooted. Vince put his arms around me for the kiss, stopping to gently stroke the baby and I thought I might faint. The kiss he gave me was gentle, but full of passion and possession. Like the alpha male marking his territory. I was HIS. He kissed me long and hard and the world faded away to nothing but his arms.

"Ok, you two. Plenty of time for that later." Bobby was pulling us apart now. "Besides it my turn." He grabbed me gently and hugged me, swinging me around and planting a huge kiss on my lips. I kissed him on the cheek. ' Congratulations, beautiful. " "Thanks Bobby, you are the best friend ever." Bobby laughed when he saw tears in my eyes again, and kissed my cheek gently.

Hal also hugged me, but he was more restrained and careful, as if afraid of hurting me. But his grin was huge as he congratulated me. Bobby gave Vince a long, guy hug complete with back slapping. Then we all carefully signed the marriage license, Bobby and Hal signing as witnesses. There was even a guy there to take pictures, and Vince and the guys patiently complied with the photographers request as he made them pose for shot after shot.

I hadn't eaten and was starved, so Vince took me to another suite, where the four of us dined and had wedding cake and champagne. I didn't want any champagne because of the baby, but Vince said I had to have a sip to celebrate, so I drank out of his glass. Bobby and Hal both made toasts and clinged their glasses with spoons to make Vince and I kiss, then hooted when we did. There was even music, so Vince and I had our "first dance." Vince, like most guys, would rather be stabbed in the eye than dance, so it was sweet that he was making the effort for me. Then, I danced with Bobby, then Hal. It was so sweet how they went out of their way to make it as much like a traditional wedding reception as possible. After we had eaten, Vince and I went back to our suite and began the wedding night.

I knew Vince wanted to just rip the dress off me, but his huge hands carefully undid all the little buttons on the back while his lips took care of my front. It was the most amazing sex we've ever had. It was so passionate and wild. He was so hard and well muscled, completely recovered from getting shot. He made me come four different times with his fingers and his lips. He left me teetering helplessly on the brink, and made me beg and call out his name, and that I was "Mrs. Vincent Sonterra" before finally making me come. Only then did he get inside me, carefully, stopping before he came to kiss my abdomen and and tell the baby that he loved him. We fell asleep, sated and exhausted, in each others arms. I couldn't believe how happy I was and I embraced it, fearing that the happiness might be short lived.

* * *

It has been two weeks since the wedding, and Vince is off on a mission. He promised that this one was not in a war zone and just a training mission, and that the guys and I should be able to contact him on his cell if we wanted.

Bobby had promised to take care of me again while he was gone, and I knew he would, since he already was. Hal had been fired from Rangeman and booted from the building, so he was now living in the other side of my duplex. I knew that even though Vince would be gone, I'd have plenty of protection and the guys looking out for me. I knew it was harder for Vince to go this time too. When he it was time to leave, he kept whispering to Bobby about me. I just heard Bobby say, "Don't worry, man, I'll take care of her."

Vince had been so sweet, he held me when he said goodbye. I had promised myself I wouldn't cry, but of course I did. Vince just held me and wiped my tears away. " Don't worry sweetie. I'll be fine. Its just a training mission, probably in the US. You can even call me if you want. " He actually knelt down and pulled up my shirt, and kissed my bulging abdomen. I heard him whisper to the baby, " Daddy loves you. Take care of your mommy while I'm gone." That was so sweet. Most men would never have done that in front of other guys, but Vince had no problems with his masculinity. I wanted to keep hugging him, but finally he broke away and Bobby held me while Vince got in the car, blew me another kiss, and drove away.

He's been gone a week now, and he has called me every night, because he knows I am worried and need to hear his voice. Hal has been helping me a lot with stuff around the house, since he lives next door now.

This morning , Hal was helping me paint the nursery. He had gone to Home Depot to get more paint, and I was sititing in the baby's room, lost in thought, imagining how great it would be when it was done. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I turned around, and there was Ranger.

Shit. I hoped Lester or Bobby or Tank was in the control room to see him come in, but Rangeman had such a skeleton staff now, that I wasn't sure. Why the hell was Ranger here? There was a restraining order. How had he known I was here alone? He must have been watching and see Hal leave.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Sonterra," he said, sarcastically. " Your new hubby loves you so much he left you here to get ready for the baby yourself, huh?"

My heart was racing and I was frantically thinking of what to do. My cell was in my pocket and I grabbed it, trying to text a 911 to Bobby without Ranger noticing.

I could feel my blood throbbing through me and I was starting to feel faint and lightheaded.

Ranger just looked at me cooly, and said, "Just remember, I am always watching you. Where ever you go and whatever you do."

He turned around and walked out of the duplex after giving me another of his menacing looks.

I felt dizzy and fell hard onto the couch, my head felt like it was pounding and my veins throbbing. I was gripping myself against the sudden pains when Bobby came in, frantic. He'd probably seen Ranger leave. "Steph, what's wrong." He saw me on the couch and said, "oh shit. Did he touch you?"

He immediately was on his phone , calling 911. I heard him say something about 'complications to a pregnancy. " What's wrong sweetie, " What hurts" he asked, his strong hands easing me down onto the couch. "My head is pounding and my body feels like its throbbing. And then I got pains."

"ok, sweetie," just try to relax and take deep breaths." He was holding my wrist, taking my pulse, and then he took my blood pressure. "Bobby, what's wrong? What's happening?" Bobby smoothed my hair and tried to calm me. " Sweetie, your blood pressure is through the roof, " was all he'd say. He held my hand and tried to calm me for another few minutes until the ambulance arrived. I heard Bobby tell the medics my vitals and then he jumped into the ambulance with me.

Hal came back, looking shocked, as they were loading me into the ambulance, and Bobby yelled at him to get in touch with Vince and tell him to get home.


	36. Chapter 36

Acceptance- Chapter 36

Sorry it has taken so long for this chapter. _Please leave reviews, as I live for them._

Steph's POV

My eyes were open slightly, and Bobby and a medic were hovering over me in the ambulance. They had put me on oxygen, a heart monitor, and started an IV, the medic was taking my blood pressure every few minutes. Neither of them had answered my question about what was happening. I was in pain, and I could feel a throbbing going through me. Bobby just held my hand and whispered to me to stay calm, that he'd take care of me. I was terrified that I might be losing Vince's baby- our baby. Bobby and the medic kept talking back and forth between them, numbers and medical stuff, something about clamps or something. But when I asked Bobby, he just said that I should relax and try to stay calm. I could feel tears leak out of my eyes, and Bobby's hand wiped them away.

"Bobby, it hurts," I said. He squeezed my hand and gave me a worried look. " I know, sweetie, but we can't give you anything yet until we know what's going on with the baby. Just try to relax and breathe deeply." He smiled, " And you can squeeze my hand as hard as you want to." That sort of made me grin, since I already had a death grip on his hand.

My eyes clouded up with tears. I knew Bobby would take care of me, but I wanted Vince. If I was losing this baby, I wanted Vince there to help me through it. I wanted his strength and his arms around me. Then I remembered Ranger. " Did you see Ranger?" I asked Bobby. He was there. He violated the restraining order. " Bobby just said he knew and he'd take care of it and told me to try to stay calm.

Bobby's cell phone rang as we were pulling into the ER bay. He looked at the number, then answered it quickly. " Yo, Brown," a pause. He half turned away from me so I couldn't hear his conversation. I knew that it had to be Vince calling. And that Bobby didn't want me to hear. "Yeah, she's here. Its not life threatening as of now, " he said in a low voice. "They're just bringing her in, so I'll call you back in a few. You should get back here ASAP." He made eye contact with me and then smiled. " ok, I'll tell her. See ya, man."

He closed the phone and looked at me with a slight grin. " That was Vince. He's on his way home. He said to tell you to be strong and that he loves you.

Vince's POV

I was hot, sweaty, and smelly from training in the scorching Nevada desert, but that was the least of my worries since I'd gotten the call from Hal that something had happened with Steph and I should get home. Fast. He didn't know what had happened, only that Bobby had gone with her in an ambulance to the hospital. I called Bobby, but he was pretty cryptic, too. I knew he'd been in the ambulance with Steph, and didn't want her to overhear. It probably had something to do with the baby, and I knew Bobby would call me as soon as he knew anything. My whole body was tense, overcome with an overwhelming need to get home- now.

Ok, I was training in the middle of the fucking desert in Nevada. Getting emergency leave wouldn't be a problem. I could just tell them my wife was having a medical emergency. But there were no commercial flights from Vegas or Reno until late tomorrow morning. Then it would be at least six hours from there, with a possible layover to change planes. Steph needed me faster than that. There was a military C-130 cargo plane here that has been going back and forth with supplies. The pilot is a friend and he is leaving in an hour to head back East. C130s are cargo planes, and not designed to carry passengers, but he said he'd take me if I could be ready and get permission to go. The CO didn't really want me to go on a cargo plane, but when he saw how frantic I was to get home, he relented and gave permission.

Can you imagine, me ,frantic? I have never been frantic in my entire life. About anything. Until today I didn't think that word was even in my vocabulary. But I was absolutely out of my mind and all I could think of was getting back to Steph and my son when they needed me. I trusted Bobby implicitly , with my life, and Steph's, and I knew he'd take care of her. But I could feel a stinging behind my eyes at the thought of Steph going through that without me there.

Hal's POV

I followed the ambulance to the ER, the cans of paint for the nursery now forgotten on the floor of my truck. I was on the phone the entire time. To Vince, to Bobby, to Tank. Whatever had happened to Steph had been triggered by Ranger showing up at the duplex. Shit. This was my fault. I shouldn't have left her alone there, even for such a short time. He was probably watching the place and knew when I left, then made his move. Thank God Bobby had been close enough to answer her 911 text.

I wasn't much of a religious person, because I'd seen enough terrible stuff to know that sometimes God could really be a bastard. But I said a silent prayer that Steph wouldn't lose the baby. She and Vince had already been through so much shit, they deserved to have something good happen to them.

I got to the ER and Bobby was in the waiting room.

"How is she?", I asked worriedly.

Bobby sighed. " I don't know. Her blood pressure was extremely high, and I think its preeclampsia. The docs will have to see if they can get it under control."

Shit. That sounded bad. " Did you tell Vince?"

" I spoke with him briefly in the ambulance, so he knows she's here. I am not going to call him back until I have something definitive to tell him. He's getting here as fast as he can, and there's no point in him worrying until we know for sure what we should worry about." I could actually see the concern in Bobby's eyes. It was probably in mine, too. Even though Steph was married to Vince, all of us guys loved her, and Vince had been my friend for years.

Ram, Zip, and Woody showed up in the ER waiting room. They'd been fired from Rangeman, but this wasn't about Rangeman. It was about Steph and Vince and that fucker Ranger.

Bobby briefed them on what we knew so far about Steph's condition.

Ram said, "Tank and Lester went to the cop shop. They are demanding to go WITH the cops to have Ranger arrested for violating the restraining order. That ought to be enough to revoke his bail and keep him locked up. Tank also called Rangeman's attorney about Steph filing additional harassment and stalking charges against Ranger."

Lester's POV

We had been meeting with lawyers to see about the possibility of buying out Ranger's half of Rangeman. Hal, Vince, Ram and I were all interested. If we split it between the four of us, we can probably do it. Depending on the results of Ranger's trial and the media backlash, we might be taking the reins of a dead company. It will take a lot to restore Rangeman's reputation, but we all love the business and are willing to do it. Ranger will probably have to sell the assets, like the cars, too, so we can possibly get some of those cheap.

Right now, though, the only important things are taking are of Steph and the baby and keeping that bastard Ranger behind bars. He violated a restraining order, so the putting him behind bars part shouldn't be a problem.

Tank and I were on our way to the cop shop right now, to insist that Ranger be arrested immediately, and to help with that process. We finally got a couple of cops that had arrested Ranger last time to come with us to his apartment on the 7th floor.

It was as clean and tidy, as usual. Even more so, since his clothes were gone, his gear was gone, and his weapons lockbox was completely empty. "Fuck," I yelled. Ranger had taken off. He wasn't anywhere in the building.

"Shit. He split. He could be anywhere by now." Tank said. " Well, he has to be in the country . The judge made him surrender his passport," one of the cops said, stupidly. What a stupid fuck. I was pissed that the local cops were so stupid. " He doesn't need his passport. He has the ability to make a new one under any variety of aliases. And, thanks to his Special forces training and contacts, he can sneak into any country without any papers at all."

The cops put out an APB and a BOLO saying there was a warrant out for his arrest. Tank and I went to check the local Rangeman safe houses, in case he was holed up there. But Ranger wasn't stupid. He knew how to hide.

"I'll contact Rangeman Miami to see if he is there and send the cops there. Also, there is a Rangeman in Boston." the cop said. But I knew that was a waste of time. Ranger would never hide in such an obvious place.

Shit. I guess we'd have to hunt Ranger down like the dog that he was. Sure he had skills, but so did we.

Bobby's POV

Ram, Zip, Woody, Hal and I sat there in the waiting room, looking like a huge wall of muscle. I was the only one with an actual Rangman uniform on, but the other guys looked plenty intimidating in their civies. And of course, we were all heavily armed. I didn't think Even Ranger would have the balls to come here, but if he did, we were ready.

It had been almost two hours since they'd brought Steph in, and we were still waiting to hear a report on her condition. Vince had called me two more times, but I hadn't had any new info for him.

Lester had called and told us about Ranger's disappearing act, so we were making good use of our wait time by calling all our contacts to get info about Ranger. Zip was on his laptop, sending emails to his contacts and the other Rangeman offices. We were going to find that fucker and put him behind bars before he had any more chances to hurt Steph or Vince.

Finally, a grey haired doctor in his mid-forties came out. "Which of you is Stephanie Sonterra's husband?"

"Um, none of us is. He is out of town on a military mission and is on his way here. I am Bobby Brown, and I am Steph's medical next of kin when Vince is gone."

The doc looked at me hard up and down, obviously deciding to believe me rather than piss off a huge guy who is obviously armed.

" Mrs. Sonterra has a condition called preeclampsia." I knew all about that, but I let the doc explain for the other guys. " It causes extremely high blood pressure in the pregnant woman. If it isn't controlled, it can cause seizures and can even result in maternal death." He continued quickly before the guys could react to that. " The only cure for preeclampsia is the birth of the baby. Mrs. Sonterra is in the early stages of preeclampsia. We are trying to get her blood pressure down and stabilize her. If we can do that, she'll need to be here a few days so we can monitor her. Then, she'll need complete bed rest at home. But this is a very serious condition, that, if not controlled, can kill her. Right now, though, we seem to be getting it under control."

All of the guys had looks of shock on their faces. This could kill Steph or the baby if it isn't controlled. Fuck. This was serious.

"Right now, we are trying to stabilize her and will get her settled in a room. She will be able to have visitors, but only one and for a short time. Since we are trying to keep her blood pressure down, it is esssential that she be kept as calm as possible. The nurse will let you know when she can have visitors." He shook my hand and walked away.

Fuck. This was not good. I got out my phone to give Vince an update.

Lester's POV

Bobby had called us to update us about Steph's condition. Apparently, it was pretty serious, but they were trying to get it under control. Tank and I had checked the Trenton safe houses and were headed to the hospital when my cellphone rang.

"Yo, Santos."

" Les, its Jose Rojas." Rojas was a cop and a good friend in the PD. One of the only cops I liked and trusted.

"What's up , Jose?"

" Well, you called about trying to find Carlos Manoso. Well, I don't have him, but we've been called to the scene of a homicide. Its that associate of Manoso's, guy named Carter Norwich. He's got a bullet in the center of his brain. Figured you'd want to know."

Fuck. Ranger had fled town and apparently was taking care of loose ends. He was getting rid of the few people who could testify against him. Norwich had given Ranger the info on potassium and told him where to buy it. Norwich's testimony could prove that Ranger intended to kill Vince, thereby making it murder. Fuck. Now Ranger killed Norwich so he couldn't testify.

"Um, Jose, let me know about the ballistics you get on the bullet, if they are traceable to any of Ranger's registered guns. Thanks for the info."

Shit. Now, not only was Ranger gone, he was getting rid of anyone who could prove anything against him. And I'd bet my fucking paycheck that Ranger used an unregistered gun to kill him. Ranger is too smart to make a mistake like that.

What a giant clusterfuck. Now, even if we find him, we may not be able to convict him. We also needed to worry that he might go after Vince again, since Vince could also testify. But Vince wasn't weak and helpless anymore. If it came down to Ranger vs. Vince, with Vince as pissed as he is at Ranger, I'd put my money on Vince.

I raced to the ER to let the guys know about this new development.

Vince's POV

I finally made it to the hospital, and Bobby greeted me outside Steph's room.

"How is she?" I asked immediately.

Bobby looked concerned. "Well, they seem to have stabilized her for now, and gotten her blood pressure down. Her vitals are better and the fetal heartbeat is good."

"She'll probably need to be here at least a few days, and then most likely bed rest at home. Preeclampsia is bad news, but if we can keep it controlled, she'll be able to continue the pregnancy. " The unspoken message was that there was also a chance that she might not be able to continue the pregnancy. But that wasn't an option. I'll do what it takes to keep her healthy and stable.

Bobby slapped me on the back. " I'll fill you in on the rest later, man. Go in and see her. She's been asking for you. She is pretty sedated, though."

"Thanks, Bobby, I said, returning the back slap. Once again he'd had to deal with a crisis while I was gone.

I went into Steph's room silently and saw her lying in bed with her eyes closed. She had an IV and a heart monitor and a BP cuff around her arm. There was also a device that monitored the fetal heartbeat.

Bobby said they'd stabilized her, and she looked peaceful. I took her hand and gently kissed her face. I was so fucking glad to see her alive. I'd been so scared. More scared than I'd ever been in my life.

For a minute, there was only the sound of the machines beeping.

Steph stirred slightly and her eyes opened slightly. "Hey, sweetie," I said, and her mouth bent into a tiny grin when she saw me. " Vince, I am so glad you're here," She rasped out, her voice hoarse. I squeezed her hand, and kissed her on the cheek.

"Its ok, sweetie, I'm here. Its going to be ok, I promise. Now go back to sleep."

She closed her eyes and I felt her drift into sleep. I had promised her everything would be ok. How the fuck was I going to keep that promise? Everything was far from ok. She could die, or the baby could. I kissed her cheek again, then settled into a chair next to her bed, never letting go of her hand. I was exhausted from the whirlwind of getting here so quickly, and I closed my eyes too. I had promised her it would be ok. I would keep that promise. I would make sure everything would be ok. It had to be.


	37. Chapter 37

Sorry this update has taken so long. The last few months have been rough and I haven't felt like writing. Please leave reviews, as I live for them.

Acceptance- Chapter 37

Steph's POV

From the moment I woke up, Vince was with me, his large warm hand enclosing mine. I had been so scared, so afraid of what was happening to me, or might happen to the baby. But with Vince here, I wasn't scared anymore. All I had to do was look into those deep brown eyes and it was like everything was right with the world because he would make it ok. Logically, I knew that Vince wasn't magical, nor was he God. There were lots of things Vince couldn't control, like what might happen to me or the baby. Heck, he had almost been killed at Ranger's hands. But logic didn't matter. I felt that everything would automatically turn out ok just because Vince was here.

I am not sure exactly what is happening. It seemed so ominous that I was rushed to the hospital, everyone whispering about me, now I'm hooked up to a monitor and a fetal heart monitor, and no one was telling me anything. I can hear the monitors beeping, so I guess that baby is ok. I woke up a few times and asked Vince, but he just shushed me and told me not to worry, just go to sleep. Vince is an expert at hiding his feelings, but he couldn't keep the concern from his eyes. He looked worried and tired, his jaw stubbled since he hadn't shaved in awhile. Right now, Vince and Bobby are huddled over in the corner of the room, talking to the doctor. Vince is facing me, and when he sees me watching, his face breaks into a small smile.

The doctor left and Vince came back to the bed and took my hand. " What's going on?", I asked. " What's wrong with me and the baby?"

Vince glanced across the room at Bobby, obviously deciding how much to tell me. From the look in his eye, I knew he was going to tell me the truth. Vince never let me hide from the truth, and he wasn't going to keep it from me now. "Honey, you have something called preeclampsia. It is really high blood pressure. If it isn't kept under control, it can kill you. The only way to get rid of it is the birth of the baby. But the baby can't be born for another two months, so we are going to have to make sure that you stay calm and keep your blood pressure down until the baby is far enough along to be born."

Stay calm? Is he kidding? With pregnancy complications, crazy Ranger stalking me and Vince not having a job at Rangeman. Calm really wasn't ever a word used to describe me, not even on my best day, which today certainly wasn't.

"Ok, well, what happens if my blood pressure gets high again", I asked. Again that look passed between Vince and Bobby. I caught a flash of something in Vince's eyes and knew there was more he wasn't telling me. He was definitely hiding something from me. That scared me, because he never hides things from me. I looked Vince in the eye. "Answer my question. What happens if we can't keep my blood pressure under control?"

Vince sighed, squeezed my hand and looked me in the eye. "If we can't keep your blood pressure down and you have another episode like that, they will have to take the baby to save your life."

Take the baby? I felt my stomach start to churn. What did that mean?

"But, there are three more months to go until he's term." I said, hoping that he didn't mean what I thought he did. Vince hesitated for a moment, as if trying to find the right words to make it less horrible. " If your blood pressure gets out of control and you become critical again, they will have to take the baby to save your life, even if it isn't viable to survive on its own. They will have to terminate the pregnancy. "

Even if…oh my God…terminate the pregnancy? There was still a chance I could lose this baby. Oh, God. I felt me eyes fill with tears and before I could stop them they were coursing down my face. " So, if I can't keep my blood pressure down, I could lose the baby or die myself?" I squeaked.

Vince must have seen the panic in my eyes. " You will stay here for a few days, then be on bedrest at home for six more weeks. By then, the baby will be strong enough to survive on its own and they'll do a C-section. In the meantime, we need to keep your blood pressure down, so we don't want you upset about anything."

Now upset about anything? "But what about Ranger and-"

"Don't even think about Ranger. You let us handle that. Your only job now is to keep yourself healthy." He sat on the edge of the bed and gathered me into his arms, "Its going to be ok, honey." he whispered. "I'm not going to lose you or the baby." I just held him tightly, the anchor in my out of control world. If I had to spend the next six weeks "staying calm" then I'd do it. I wasn't going to lose the baby.

Ram's POV

I couldn't fucking believe that the local cops had let Ranger get away. With his history, they should have had someone stuck to him like glue. But of course, they didn't. Or maybe they did and Ranger used his exceptional special forces skills to elude them. After all, Ranger had the same training that we all did, and any one of us could simply disappear off the radar and never be found unless we wanted to be. And , well, I honestly wasn't sure what Ranger would do anymore. He had turned into such a soulless bastard that I wouldn't put anything past him. He killed Norwich to get rid of any "loose ends."

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. I was glad Les was dealing with the idiot cops and not me.

" There is no fucking way they will find him the usual ways. Ranger has too many passports, almost unlimited supplies of cars and cash, too many secret bank accounts, and is way too smart to use his own credit cards for things," Lester said, glaring at the local police detective.

"We have notified all the airports and put out another BOLO and an arrest warrant for him . He will turn up. If he crosses state lines the FBI will get involved. " the detective said, defensively. Lester paused and closed his eyes for a second and I could tell he was gathering the strength not to beat the shit out of this moron.

"Look, Ranger is a fugitive ex-Special Forces soldier , " Lester explained patiently, as if he were talking to a five year old. "He's a specialist in getting in out and around without being detected. There is no way you a re going to find him, or even the FBI. You guys have to follow rules, respect civil rights, get warrants, and all that shit. Ranger doesn't have to. He can do whatever it takes."

"But the FBI-"

"Fuck the FBI, " I interrupted. "They won't be able to catch him. There is really only one group that has even the slightest hope of catching him. That's us- Rangemen. Well, we used to be Rangemen. We all have the same E & E training that he had. We all know how to be invisible. We can find him, but we have to be able to do it our way, - with no rule book. We can deliver him to you, preferably alive, but you can't impede us or question our methods. We have to be able to be in control."

" You are talking vigilante justice," the cop said. " Taking the law into your own hands. You can't do that."

"No, we are talking about a mission to track down and neutralize a target. Its what we do, and we are the best in the world at it. All of us are former Rangers and SEALS so we know what we are doing. And we know Ranger and how he thinks. " I paused at that, since apparently none of us knew Ranger that well. The Ranger we knew would never have tried to kill his friends. " Well, we know how he would avoid detection. Our objective is to capture him and return him to stand trial."

"And you'll ring him back alive?" the detective asked.

" That is our objective. But if he attacks us or hurts anyone else, all bets are off. We will do whatever we have to in order to ensure that he will absolutely not fucking get away from this."

The detective didn't like it, but he knew that Lester and I were right. We were the only ones who could track Ranger. " No interference," I reiterated.

The detective finally gave in. " Ok, fine, I'll call my superior, and the FBI."

"Thanks," Lester said over his shoulder as he and I left to start planning for the mission. See, we could be polite when we wanted to.

Vince's POV

We sat in the living room of the other side of Steph's townhouse with maps, contacts lists, all over the coffee table and floor, planning what we were calling Operation Roundup, our mission to find Ranger. Bobby was next door with Steph. She'd come home from the hospital last night after they were sure she was stable. She had orders for "complete bedrest" which meant being in bed almost all day. She could get up to use the bathroom or walk a little around her place. After all, if she didn't get out of bed for six weeks, her leg muscles would atrophy. She has to have her blood pressure taken daily, and if it gets too high, we have to take her in immediately. She also has a special diet, which consists completely of what she calls " yucky food." They also want her to try meditation or some other way to keep calm. I had to laugh at that. They didn't know Steph very well. I don't think she can sit still and quiet long enough to meditate.

Steph hates the restrictions, but she knows that she has to follow them in order to keep herself and the baby healthy.

I owe Bobby a debt I can never repay for taking such good care of her. He can no longer live at Rangeman, so he is moving into this side of the townhouse with Hal so that he can be close in case Steph needs something medical. He will also monitor her blood pressure daily. We have decided that she is never to be alone in the townhouse, since she can't really do anything for herself. Plus, she will need lots of entertainment to keep from getting too horribly bored while she's stuck in bed and all.

I was one of the best with strategy, so I told Steph I'd be right next door, left her with Bobby, and came to help plan the mission. We had been given a green light to go after Ranger and capture him by whatever means necessary. Lester, Ram, Tank, Hal, Zip, Binkie, and Woody were all here, ready and willing to go after Ranger on their own time, at great risk to themselves. They were as pissed at him as I was. Ranger's E & E skills were extensive, and he had a lot of contacts in the military world, but then, so did we. We had called on some of them, and gotten back an "anonymous" tip that Ranger had hopped a transport flight, possibly to desolate areas in Utah and Montana. From there, he would probably leave the country. We had planned a way to get there, and do recon to find his exact location, and go from there.

This was the kind of mission I was best at. Part of me ached to go on this mission. After all, I was the one that Ranger tried to kill, and it was my wife he stalked, and he almost cost me my unborn child. It was only right that I help capture him. And I really wanted to. But Steph needed me here with her now, and I sure as hell wasn't going to leave her side, or give her anything else to worry about. I knew the guys were more than capable of accomplishing the mission without me.

In addition to capturing Ranger and caring for Steph, we also had to service the Rangeman accounts that still existed. Lester, Ram and I were in negotiations to buy out Ranger's half of Rangeman, and we needed to be sure that we still had clients when this was all over. Tank and Binkie would service the remaining Rangeman accounts, Bobby and I would stay and take care of Steph, and the rest of the guys ( Lester, Ram, Zip, and Hal) would leave to find Ranger and bring him back. We went to the Rangeman building and I watched the guys gear up for the mission with a twinge of regret that I couldn't nail Ranger personally. Tank, Binkie, and I reviewed the mission with them. They clasped me on the back and we gave out the standard, "stay alert" as they piled into the SUV so Tank could drive them to the airfield.

Their job was to find and capture Ranger, mine was to take care of my wife and child. I prayed that we were both able to accomplish our missions.


	38. Chapter 38

Acceptance- Chapter 38

_This chapter is a crossover of some of Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooters/ SEAL Team 16 characters. Her books are fabulous, and I highly recommend them. I do not own any of these characters, but I wish I owned Ranger and Koehl. _

_Sorry it has taken so long to update. Life has been crazy. Please leave feedback, as I live for it._

Ram's POV

This past week has been surreal, like something out of a bad fucking spy movie. We all knew that finding Ranger wasn't going to be easy, especially since he didn't want to be found. Our only lead had him somewhere in Montana, so we called in some favors and hopped on a military plane out there. We found out the hard way, that not only can Ranger successful cover his trail, he can lay false trails. Montana was a giant clusterfuck.

Ranger has a great reputation; at least he did before he turned into a crazy-ass, traitorous, murderous bastard. He met a lot of people and made a lot of friends in Special Forces. He is owed a lot of favors, and he has been calling them in. The Rangers have always been like a brotherhood, and there is no Ranger who wouldn't help another. Ranger has plenty of friends who would help him hide, get him forged paperwork, guard his "six", or create a diversion so he can slip away. Some of his old buddies would even kill for him, no questions asked, if Ranger called and asked them to. That's just how the Special Forces community operates, its just that tight.

What really pisses me off is that up to six months or so ago, any one of us at Rangeman would have been one of those guys who would go to hell and back for Ranger . He and Lester and Tank had been together for years and been through some nasty shit together. To all of us at Rangeman, Ranger was more than a boss, we loved him like a brother. Lester had saved Ranger's life at least once, and vice versa. That's why when Ranger went fucking postal and tried to kill Bobby, then hurt Steph, it was a betrayal for all of us. He betrayed the guys he'd been so close to over a woman. Granted, Steph was a special woman, but still, Ranger had betrayed all of us, even tried to kill one of us, because he was jealous over a woman. None of us would ever admit it, but it really hurt to be out here, tracking down this man we have trusted implicitly, ready to kill him if need be. It hurts more to know he would gladly kill us. It was incomprehensible to us that this man we had been so close to had turned on us so thoroughly.

When we tracked him to the cabin where our tip said he would be, Ranger was actually there. But so were six of his old buddies. They had rigged the land with explosives, and when we managed to sidestep the explosives, they tried to pick us off as we approached the house. We had a huge firefight in the fucking middle of Montana like one we would have had in Iraq. Ex- Special Forces guys versus Ex- Special Forces guys. Only in Montana can there be a raging firefight and no one is around to hear the gunfire or call the cops. At least Ranger's friends weren't actually trying to kill us, just keep us occupied while Ranger slipped away. Once he was gone, they pretty much stopped shooting, since they had no beef with us. They were only helping Ranger. When we told them that Ranger was wanted for attempted murder and that helping him more would make them accessories to attempted murder, they backed off.

Tank is contacting the FBI and the US military to see if we have enough proof to have Ranger charged with treason. After all, he is a veteran military contractor who endangered a military op by knowingly giving false information to a general. Then, he paid someone to kill an American soldier during a top secret military operation, thereby directly acting against the best interests of the United States and compromising an anti-terrorist operation. If the military does charge him with treason, he will be hunted down like a rabid dog. They will send the big guns after him, just as they would a terrorist. He won't be safe anywhere.

W e were at a distinct disadvantage in our mission to find Ranger. There were only four of us, and we couldn't possibly cover all the bases to catch Ranger AND outsmart his friends. Luckily, we have friends of our own. Bobby called a couple of his old buddies from when he was a NAVY SEAL. The SEALS are the tightest knit Special Ops community, and the best trained and most bad-assed operators in the entire military. They are the most elite military unit in the entire world. The relationship between SEAL teammates and former teammates is sometimes even tighter than family ties. These guys would kill and die for each other , no questions asked.

Bobby used to be on a SEAL team with Lt. Commander Lew Koehl, and the two have been together since SEALS BUD/S training. Lew is still an active duty SEAL , the commander of Team 16. When he heard what had happened to Vince , he volunteered to spend his liberty helping us track Ranger because SEALS will do anything for teammates. They also get seriously pissed when someone betrays their country. And trust me, you do not want pissed off SEALS after you, even if you are Ranger. Lew brought one of his teammates, Chief Stan Wolchonok. Stan doesn't even know Bobby, but came just because his teammate, Lew , asked him to. Also, because of the wanting to hunt and kill someone who betrayed their country thing. Lew and Stan are some scary mofos, and I definitely wouldn't want them pissed at me. Zip used to be a SEAL, before an injury made him leave the military. He is currently doing the male bonding thing with Lew and Stan by comparing Trident tattoos. Lew and Stan met us here in Montana, and now there are six of us, so the odds are in our favor.

Right now, the six of us are sitting in a cheap motel room in Montana, surrounded by pizza boxes and beer, laughing and sharing battle stories. We are using the room as an HQ of sorts, trying to get another lead on Ranger. Between us and our equipment, we have three rooms with adjoining doors. The SEALS brought some cool equipment, including satellite imagery, infrared goggles, and some bad ass weapons. I do miss getting to use the cool military "Toys."

"Ok, I just got a call from an old friend of mine who runs a charter airplane company in Nevada," Lester said. Everyone instantly quieted down to listen, glad to have some type of information to act on.

" Rick says a heavily armed guy fitting Ranger's description paid three times the going rate for a flight to Indonesia. He says the guy wouldn't let him file a flight plan or have any way to trace the flight. Rick said he figured the guy was a fugitive, since Indonesia has no extradition treaty with the US."

"Where in Indonesia?," Hal asked. "Its pretty fucking spread out."

" The flight was into Jakarta, but Rick had no idea what Ranger's plans were after that. He says they took off about an hour ago," Lester answered.

"Well, fuck, even on a jumbo jet, he'd have to stop in Hong Kong first.," Hal said.

"I doubt his final destination is Jakarta," Lew Koehl said. The SEAL commander had just finished his beer and chucked the bottle into the trash. "Its too crowded, too public. Too hard to get away from everyone else. Ranger would probably want to be away from everyone."

"Indonesia has a lot of smaller islands that are more private, more remote. I bet he'd pick one of those islands to lay low and hide out," Zip said, flicking the beer cap in his fingers.

"But if I know Ranger, he'll have friends in Jakarta who will be able to look out us, or anyone else following him," I said. " We'll need to pinpoint Ranger's exact location and go in covertly. Either fly onto the island or come in by boat." Fuck. I hated going in by boat.

Lew Koehl smiled a small, wicked smile, clearly delighted at the thought of fighting a rough sea to go in covertly by water. Crazy bastard. SEALS were trained to work in all environments, water for them was a refuge, they could swim better than Shamu.

Lew's wicked grin got bigger. " Covert water insertions are the best kind."

Lester looked at each of us. "Lets male arrangements to head to Indonesia."

Vince's POV

Steph's hair is curling around my forearm, encircling my anchor tattoo. The hair is tickling my arm as she moves slightly. She has fallen asleep on the couch , her head in my lap, during yet another viewing of Ghostbusters. I swear if I have to see that fucking movie one more time, I will kill someone. Steph has watched it ten times in the last week. For some reason, that stupidass movie calms her, so I 'll watch it with her as many times as she wants, even if it kills me.

The quilt I put over her is rising and falling with her steady breathing,. She doesn't even stir as I reach my hand out to touch the mound that is my unborn child. We had the first ultrasound pictures of the baby, and it is a boy. Steph was so excited she made me stop at Home Depot on the way home from the doctor's to get "robin's egg blue" paint for his room. She wants this baby so much. I am not at all religious, but I am constantly praying that Steph can carry him for another five weeks. If they have to terminate the pregnancy, she will be devastated.

It's terrifying to realize that my unborn son might just kill his mother. Bobby has been monitoring Steph's blood pressure daily. We had a scare three days ago when her blood pressure shot up sky high and she got lightheaded. I was ready to call an ambulance, but we managed to get her calmed down quickly. Since then, we've kept her calm using deep breathing, massage, tea, Ghostbusters, and any other damn thing we can think of. If her blood pressure gets critical again, either Steph or the baby could die. I love my son, but I couldn't bear losing Steph. My arms tightened gently around her. I wasn't going to lose either one of them. I just wasn't going to let it happen.

Steph has done amazingly well on 'bed rest." She hates being bored, but she'll do anything to keep our baby. She spends a lot of time on her laptop, reading, and watching movies. Bobby and I do everything we can to keep her occupied. I think he loves her almost as much as I do. He plays Scrabble and chess , and poker with her . Steph sucks at SCRABBLE, because she can't spell worth shit. She always tries to use made up words to get more points, and Bobby usually lets her get away with it. Tank and Binkie come over if they have time between servicing accounts. Poor Binkie has gotten stuck watching Ghostbusters almost as many times as I have.

What we don't do is talk to her about Ranger or the guys' mission to find him. She loves all the guys like brothers, and I know she worries about one of them getting hurt. She also worries about Ranger coming back to hurt her or me. That is one thing I can assure her WILL NOT HAPPEN. Ranger would have to get through Bobby and I to get to her, and that won't happen. Tank has hired a few of the guys who got laid off from Rangeman to provide security outside the house. If Ranger comes anywhere NEAR here, we'll know it. I will die before I let that fucker near Steph and the baby again.

Steph has to get some exercise so her muscles don't atrophy, so we have been taking her on short walks. Just down the block or so.I doubt even Ranger would be stupid enough to show up here, but he has hired people to do his dirty work in the past. There are always at least two of us with her when she is outside. If Ranger sends someone , one of us can take care of Steph while the other goes after the asshole.

Bobby, Tank, and I are in daily contact with Lester and Ram, but we are careful not to tell Steph anything other than that they are ok. I know she worries, but she trusts me and Bobby to keep her safe and the guys to take care of themselves.

I slide out from under her, and then pick her up and carry her to our bedroom. She doesn't even stir. I kiss the baby goodnight, then I tuck Steph in and kiss her cheek. I have been playing classical music in the bedroom when she sleeps. Not only does it help to keep her calm, it also prevents her from overhearing Bobby, Tank and I when we talk about the hunt for Ranger.

It is killing me not to be out with the guys hunting Ranger. I am an elite soldier, chasing people is what I do. My body longs to be in the action, helping to hunt down ranger like a lion hunts its prey. I want to kill that fucker myself for trying to kill me, but mostly for trying to hurt Steph. But as much as I want to be out there looking for Ranger, Steph and my son need me more. There is no fucking way I would leave Steph in her condition. Bobby wants to be out on the mission, too, but he's my best friend and he'd never leave Steph when she needs him to keep her healthy.

Bobby, Tank, and I have been helping to do research and gather as much information as we can to help Lester and the guys. Bobby is waiting for me in the living room.

" Is she asleep?" he asked.

" Yeah, and the music is on, but lets keep it low."

Bobby unfolds some satellite images . We are trying to figure out where Ranger would go to hide out.

"Lew and Stan met up with Lester and the guys in Montana. They just boarded a flight for Jakarta with a stop in Hong Kong."

He looked at the network of Islands that comprise Indonesia. " Ranger is going to want to get as far away from others as possible. There are only a few islands that are really remote."

I had to agree. "He can't use credit cards, so he'll need a lot of cash. I am trying to get the FBI to freeze his accounts and cut him off financially."

We surveyed the islands of Indonesia and tried to determine Ranger's most likely destination.

Tank's POV

Fucking lawyer. The courts have seized more of Ranger's assets, including most of the cars and the equipment, to pay off some of his bills. Lester, Ram, and Vince filed paperwork to buy Ranger's 50% of the company, but at this rate, there won't be any company left. Binkie and I are still servicing accounts, and we haven't lost any clients recently; but as long as Ranger is a fugitive, the company finances will be down the shithole. Rangeman's reputation is shot, so when this shit is over, we'll have to start from scratch. We should probably change the company name to lessen any association with Ranger.

Rangeman is almost totally shut down and the guys fired. By the time we get it running again, the type of guys we need to employ will have found other security work elsewhere.

My head is pounding so fucking hard it might explode. The damn phone ringing doesn't help.

"Rangeman security."

"Hey, dude. Its Silvio in the former Miami office. We were just cleaning out Ranger's office and we found some maps. One of them is of Indonesia. Its got notes written all over it, about some mission he did down there a couple years ago. But one of the smaller, more remote islands is circled in red. If he already knows about that island, he may plan to go there to hide out."

"Damn! Fax me the map, and be sure to fax it to Lester and Ram, too. Theya re on their way to Indonesia right now. Thanks, dude."

Finally, a clue as to where Ranger may be. But Ranger is too smart and well trained to leave the map where it might be found. Unless he put the map in his desk before the shit hit the fan and he went all psycho. If there is a remote island there that he already knows, it seems likely he'd go there to hide out.

As glad as I was for the break, I was also worried. I hope the guys won't be walking into a trap.


	39. Chapter 39

Acceptance- Chapter 39

_I know this chapter is short, but I wanted to get out at least a partial update, as I know it has been awhile. I promise to add another chapter soon. This chapter is sort of a transition. Please leave feedback, as I live for it._

Lester's POV

I have always liked the darkness. For covert soldiers, darkness is not an enemy, but an ally. It allows you to become invisible, become one with the night. There is safety, comfort in being hidden by the night. You can walk about , unseen, hide undetected. But there is a reason that I joined the fucking ARMY instead of the NAVY. I fucking hate water. Darkness on water is not safety, it Is not comforting. It is fucking wet, and cold, and it smells, I am not even IN the water. Not to mention sharks. I fucking hate sharks. Ram and I are on a boat. Well, it's a poor fucking excuse for a boat, it's more of an inflatable raft. The SEALS call it an IBS for (inflatable boat, small), and it is both inflatable, and small. Water is still sloshing inside, and the rocking with the waves is making me seasick.

No, I am not a coward, get me on land and I am fucking unstoppable. I just hate water. Ram doesn't look very comfortable, either, although neither of us will never admit it. We are both leaning over the side of the damn inflatable boat, looking for Zip, Lew Koehl, and Stan.

See, unlike us ARMY guys, NAVY guys love water. And SEALS LOVE water. They can swim like fucking fish, and for them, water is a refuge. They can dive and hide for long time periods, and swim so silently, with such minimal movement, that they will never be seen. Most soldiers run away from water, SEALS run towards it. Zip had been only too happy to join the two SEALS, Lew and Stan, in the underwater recon of the remote island.

We had gotten a lucky break in our search for Ranger when we got an email from Silvio. Apparently, Ranger had visited this island on some mission in the past and had left it, circled, on a map on his desk in the Miami office. It seemed too obvious to be true. Would Ranger really leave a map with his destination circled on his desk, where anyone can find it? Doubtful. So, while the map gave us a starting place to look, it also may lead us into a trap.

Lew called in a couple favors from some active duty guys he knows, and we were dropped into the fucking ocean , in this fucking rubber raft, a few miles from Parwati. Not only do we have to infiltrate the island and find Ranger while avoiding booby-traps, we also have to remain completely undetected while we do it. If we are seen, we are all fucking dead. This island is a favorite with drug smugglers, and other miscreants who would shoot anyone even remotely military on site. And believe me, they have their own little paramilitary force, highly paid and soulless, that will shoot anyone on site.

And not only do we have to avoid traps, find Ranger and not get killed by drug lords, we also have to stay completely under the radar of the Indonesian government. The government is corrupt as hell and has a precarious relationship with the US government. When we got military assistance, we were warned that if we were detected by the Indonesian government, we were on our own. In fact, the US government would make it clear that we were acting completely alone and allow the Indonesians to do what they will with us, rather than risk an international incident that would make the US look bad. We are not US soldiers, even the SEALS would be disavowed if caught. Getting caught would be unpleasant, to say the least, since the Indonesians aren't above torture. That's probably one of the reasons Ranger chose this island, other than its remoteness. He probably thought we'd be afraid to follow him here.

Not that they had expected any help from government officials. It wasn't like Ranger was a terrorist, like the military would expend any official resources and risk an international incident just to get a guy guilty of murder and attempted murder. No, they got a small assist with an infiltration, and a warning not to "make waves." No, if they found Ranger, they were to notify the fucking FBI, who would call the CIA, who would fumble around with their fingers up their asses getting search warrants and extraditions, while Ranger got away.

The good thing about this island being populated by drug lords was that the drug lords often didn't get along, and firefights were common. That made it easier. No one would notice if they had to open fire since the residents here were used to confrontations.

Lester was startled by the slight movement in the water, aiming his gun at the water, just in case it was a fucking shark. He lowered his weapon immediately when he saw the three men, Zip, Lew , and Stan, surface, barely disturbing the silence and darkness of the night. The three jumped adroitly into the small boat.

"Ok, we can go ashore at these coordinates," Zip said,showing Lester and Ram where they had reached the shore. " There is a small private dock, a fairly wide beach, then dense jungle. The only danger is getting up the small dock and across the beach. Lester smiled. Jungles he knew. He could hide in a jungle , escaping detection, indefinitely.

Ram joined the briefing. "No word on exactly WHERE Ranger is hiding, but there are several fairly large estates in this section of the island. Its most likely he is hiding out in a backhouse of one of the estates, or even in a hut. We have to be careful. This entire island is filled with nasty people who don't WANT to be found. There can be mines, and traps all over the beach area to keep strangers out. Any vehicles or structures we find can be rigged to explode. These people are serious criminals who don't want to be found.

Ram's POV

We were off that damn IBS, which should stand for "itty bitty shitty" boat. Except now we are in the water. We hid the "boat "in a cave near a cove, then swam in using diving gear from the shallows toward the dock on Izcaby cove. The SEALS were used to this type of water insertion, so they were taking point. The SEAL guys were a bit cocky, and a lot crazy, and they typically saw themselves as superior to all other branches of Spec Ops. These guy were hugely confident, almost arrogant, but they were used to working as a team. On teams, members each take the lead in areas of strength. I am not good in the water, but when it comes to being a sniper, I am the best.

Lew Koehl, the SEAL, raised his hand then lowered it, palm down. It was the signal to hunker down and stop. Lester, Zip, Stan and I crouched down in the water, just the very tops of our heads and our rifles visible on the surface. In the darkness we would be invisible. Apparently, some of the locals had come down to party on the beach we were going to infiltrate. We were only about 100 yards offshore, and I could see faint lights coming from the beach. Lew raised his hands again, and we crept, heads still mostly submerged, towards the beach. I wasn't sure Lew should be leading us in to an occupied beach, but he was a pro at this. He must have a backup plan. We crept slowly, barely rippling the water, invisible in the night shadows. Shit. There were actually people on that tiny dock now, literally within yards of us. Lew led us silently past them, and we crawled ashore, into a small cave covered by a huge overhang. We were literally UNDER the beach. We waited there, silently, going through our ammo, revising our plan, waiting for the apparent fucking drug runner party to die down so we can go about our mission of finding Ranger. And thinking about what we were going to do to that fucking bastard when we found him.


	40. Chapter 40

Acceptance- Chapter 40

_Sorry it has been so long. Real life has prevented me from writing. I hope that the action scenes in this chapter make sense, they made sense in my head, so I hope they translated to paper._

_Please leave reviews as I live for them._

Ram's POV

Although we all knew how to do recon, the waiting was always the hardest part. We were all Spec Ops, we knew how to hide, remain completely invisible, while gathering valuable intelligence on enemy numbers, etc. We all knew how to perform necessary tasks, checking ammo, setting up scopes, loading weapons almost soundlessly. Once on a mission with the military, I went on a recon mission and didn't leave my assigned hiding spot for 26 hours. The waiting was something I hated, but something we all had to become good at. Our primary mission was to find Ranger, and do so covertly, without anydrug lords , or the Indonesian government knowing that we were here. But in the process of accomplishing that mission, we might first get to first kick some fucking drugrunner ass.

Although I was a bit nervous infiltrating on the itty bitty shitty "boat", now that we were in a jungle again, I felt completely comfortable. SEALS knew water like it was their second home, and that's how Lester and I knew jungles. The jungle was a refuge for us, a place to hide, living off the land, where no one could find us. I felt the adrenaline surge through me and, despite the shitty circumstances of having to get past druglords and the Indonesian government to find and possibly have to kill someone who had once been our closest friend, I couldn't restrain a smile. Truth was, a part of me really missed being out in the field on these high octane covert life and death missions. Working at Rangeman was great, but not pulse-pounding, adrenaline rushing, bullets flying kind of rush that was the combat mission.

We lit a tiny flashlight, using our bodies to shield the light from being seen outside the cave. We had rudimentary intelligence on the area. We knew there were about 5 large homes, with outbuildings scattered in isolated areas across the island. Not that this whole fucking island wasn't an isolated area, but I guess criminals liked their privacy. We waited about an hour in that cave until some of the commotion from the beach above us had died down. Lester took point, and led us down the beach and into the pitch dark mouth of the jungle. We crept by, just a few yards from the 5 uniformed armed guys on the beach- Indonesian military, but we crept by unseen. Shit. Was the Indonesian military here becsue they knew we were, or were they here simply because they always hung out with the drug lords? I guess we'd find out soon.

Vince's POV

Bobby and Binkie are painting the nursery a soft baby blue. I don't want Steph anywhere that she might breathe the fumes, so I brought her to the Rangeman office, or what's left of it . Most of the office is deserted, as most of the guys have been laid off. Tank and Binkie are here, servicing the clients Rangeman has left, trying to keep the business together so that there will be something left for us to resurrect when this FUBAR situation with Ranger is over.

There isn't even a couch around here, so I insisted that she sit in a padded chair with her legs up. She is paging through a baby names book.

Tank and I are sitting a short distance away, talking quietly about the latest report from the guys on Parwati. We also need to make sure that however the situation with Ranger works out, we keep it quiet. We cannot afford to lose any more clients. I can't concentrate on the conversation, though. I just keep turning to watch her every few minutes , as if she will disappear if I turn my head away for too long. I notice that Tank does , too. All the guys have been so protective of her. I don't want her to see me doing it though, as she already says I am being too "smothering." I can't help being overprotective. She and the baby are fragile right now, and I don't want to lose either one of them.

"So the guys have covertly infiltrated Parwati on IBSs. Now they are heading off to search for Ranger." I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Lester and Ram on one of those fucking inflatable boats. They would hate that, but a soldier has to do what he has to do. A surge of adrenaline shot through me and I had to quell the fierce desire to be there, in the field with the guys. Yes, I fucking love the excitement of fieldwork. I especially want to track down and kill Ranger for what he did to me, but more importantly, what he did to Steph. I want to be there with the guys, to be the one to fucking kill that bastard. But I don't regret staying here with Steph. She is my wife. She and my son need me now more than ever and I am not leaving her.

My reverie is broken by the sound of her voice. "Vince, what have you heard from the guys?"

Tank shoots me a sympathetic look. Shit. What do I say? I don't want to lie and say I haven't. If I tell her that I have, she'll want all the details, because she hates it when I placate her. Besides, I have always been direct with her. But I don't want her getting upset. I won't risk anything that could hurt her or the baby. She's been pretty stable, and she only has to carry the baby another few weeks before it is viable to be delivered.

I started to give her my blankface, then swiveled to meet her eyes. " Honey, all I know is that they have landed at Parwati island and they are going to look for Ranger." A brief look of worry crossed her face.

" What do you think will happen when they find him?" I knew she was worried about the guys getting hurt, and couldn't blame her. Ranger is a formidable enemy. I loved the guys like brothers and I sure as hell didn't want them hurt or killed.

I took her hand. "Honey, I don't know. I guess they will try to capture him. They won't shoot unless they have to." She didn't look reassured. I noticed that Tank had carefully crept out of the room so he wouldn't have to help me deal with Steph. Fucking coward.

I stroked her hand and continued, trying to ease her worries. "Look, you know how good they are at what they do. They take risks, but they are calculated ones. They aren't careless. They'll be ok." I tried to put a lot of confidence that I wasn't feeling into my eyes to reassure her. Yes, the guys were good. But Ranger was the best. We guys had learned a lot of what we know from Ranger. Many of the guys had been friends with Ranger for years, so they wouldn't shoot him unless they couldn't avoid it. Ranger , however, would not hesitate to shoot them. He would do anything to anyone to avoid capture. But no way in hell was I telling Steph that.

" They'll be fine," I told her again, as we went down to the car. We were staying at a hotel tonight until the paint fumes dissipated and it was safe for her back in the townhouse.

I helped her in and she buckled her seatbelt, the baby name book still in her hand.

"What do you think of Justin?" she asked excitedly. "Or Cody."

I was relieved that she had something to take her mind off the topic of Ranger and the guys, but I grimaced at her taste in names. I wanted my son to have a strong , traditional name. No way was he going to have one of those trendy names that Steph seemed to like. I grunted noncommittally.

She kept going. "Or Drew? Or how about Kevin, or…"

Lester's POV

The jungle is pitch black, and our night vision goggles aren't helping much. We spent the last two days just doing recon, gathering intelligence about two of the places, the two most likely places, that Ranger could be hiding. Unfortunately, both places are heavily guarded by an army of drug runners, and most likely have landmines in front.

Lew Koehl, the SEAL, was on point as he, Ram, and I crept up towards the estate. It was a fucking huge estate. Drugs are pretty fucking lucrative. Ranger has never sold drugs, but apparently he isn't above associating with drug runners now. We all pancaked as a fully armed patrol- of fucking Indonesian government soldiers pass us by.

The radios click, indicating that Zip, the SEAL Stan, and Hal had reached their position on the other flank of the compound. There was a ring of guards surrounding the estate, armed with assault rifles and grenades. Between us and the house is about 100 yards of open clearing.

Ram had found a fairly high spot of ground with less trees from which he could set up his sniper rifle. There are a lot of trees, but Ram is good enough to get a shot between them.

"That field is probably rimmed with explosives," I whispered soundlessly. We had to find out and get across it to the estate without getting blown up or shot. But we had to be really sure that Ranger was in there first. If we assaulted this estate and Ranger wasn't in it, he'd have warning and be able to flee undetected. And it wasn't like Ranger was just sitting there waiting for us to come.

Fuck. I hated that we only had six guys. The guys on the flank signaled that Zip was going to go in to see if Ranger was there. I didn't know how the fuck he was going to do it without getting shot, but he used to be a SEAL, and they are all fucking crazy.

Zips's POV

I belly scooted as far forward as I could towards the estate. I had to move so slowly, barely an inch at a time in order to avoid being seen. I knew that Ranger's guys had a sniper somewhere, just waiting to shoot at some movement. Damn.

I saw a big guy with an even bigger fucking gun out of the corner of my eye and I froze, praying that he hadn't seen me. I waited a few minutes until he had passed, and I scooted forward again. I jumped and had to quell the instinct to get up and run as a sniper bullet pinged just centimeters from my head, then another. I froze, hoping my cammo was good enough to hide me form the sniper who apparently sucked. Another bullet pinged, and I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. Fuck. I tried to sight and my eyes swept the fields opposite, but I couldn't find the sniper. I knew Ram was trying to locate the sniper to take him out and I was relieved when the bullets stopped.

My relief was short lived, though, because the sniper's shooting had alerted the other guards, who now also started shooting. "Fuck,fuck, fuck!" I yelled inside my head as I forgot about blending in and raced back into the jungle for cover.

Ram's POV

Fuck. I couldn't find the goddamn sniper that had Zip pinned. Lew and Lester were providing cover fire, and the situation had become a giant clusterfuck. I finally found the target and eliminated him, but now bullets were flying from everywhere. So much for being stealthy.

Zip came running back into the jungle, his shoulder stained with blood. " Fuck. I can't believe I got shot . I fucking HATE getting shot," he yelled, as Lew ripped off his jacket and stopped the bleeding from his shoulder. "It just grazed you, " Lew said, in a chiding voice.

Stan and Hal were shooting from their flank and we shot from ours, hoping to get as many of those motherfuckers as we could just in the crossfire. I could hear the druggies shouting in some language I didn't understand, but " kill them" sounds pretty much the same in any languge.

Any element of surprise or stealth was gone long ago. We were pretty sure that Ranger was in the estate. He'd be stupid to run out here with all the gunfire.

Lester signaled me to stay there, to eliminate any targets I can. He raised his hand forward in a gesture, and he and Lew, ran balls on towards the building. Zip, despite having lost a fair amount of blood, was racing right behind them, setting up cover fire. Stan and Hal were setting up heavy cover fire as the guys ran for the building. Holy shit. The sound of the gunfire was interrupted by the louder sound of a bomb going off. " Fuck!" someone yelled. I saw bodies thrown down to the ground , silhouetted in the fire from the explosion. Holy fuck!

"Lester!" I yelled. "Zip!" The smoke from the bomb cleared and I saw Lester and Zip slowly pick themselves off the ground. Lew had been hit, and was holding his side, but he signaled that he would be ok, for awhile.

Despite being hurt, Zip and Lew picked themselves up and continued advancing toward the estate.

I had to abandon the sniper post, as my teammates needed me more right now. I grabbed by rifle and pistol and moved quickly but carefully through the clearing, trying to avoid hitting any explosives. Stan and Hal were approaching from the back, just as a sudden movement caught my attention. It was Ranger, running full bore out of the estate and toward one of the side buildings. He shot blindly as he ran, coming close to hitting Stan.

I chased Ranger until I came around the side of the outbuilding. Ranger had gone inside and locked it. It too was booby trapped, and a smoke grenade went off as I smashed the window.

Ranger ducked as I smashed out the window, but I caught him well within my rifle sites. The first, most basic rule of using a gun, the rule taught to fucking 12 year olds, is don't point the gun at anything you aren't prepared to shoot. Well, here I was, a seasoned Spec Ops warrior, violating that most basic of firearm rules. Because I wasn't sure I could shoot Ranger, in spite of everything. He had been my friend for many years, before he turned fucking psycho. I guess I still hoped we could take him alive. I just held my rifle on him, my hands actually shaking. Yes, I am a sniper, and I have killed a lot of guys, but they were all terrorists, not someone who had once been my best friend.

Lester came up beside me and aimed his rifle at Ranger. I could see that he wasn't anxious to shoot Ranger either. So much for fucking gun rules. Some of us still had a conscience. Lester made eye contact with me and yelled, " Ranger hands up. Don't make us shoot you."

Shit, I hope Ranger gave it up, because I didn't know if I could shoot him. But I knew Ranger wouldn't give it up or be captured alive. He'd die fighting and take us with him.

In a split second, we had our answer. Ranger raised his hands, with his gun in them, and fired straight at us.


	41. Chapter 41

Acceptance- Chapter 41

_I hope the battle scenes make sense here. They do in my head, but I am not sure how well they translate on paper. Please leave feedback, as I live for it._

Ranger's POV

I can't believe those fuckers actually think they can track me down. I taught them everything they know. They wouldn't have been able to track a freaking elephant through a jungle without my instruction. Now those amateurs have come to Indonesia to try to catch me? Who the fuck do they think they are? I noticed they had to get help from some SEALS, because they could never hunt me down themselves. And they forget that I am an expert at covert warfare. I am ready for them, there are traps everywhere. And the Indonesian military knows they are here, because, well, I fucking told them. So now, the guys have to deal with me and the Indonesian military.

If the military catches the guys, it won't be pretty. I have told them that my men have all been in the Special Forces and have done missions to wipe out drug runners , some in Indonesia. And of course, when I told the captain that, his face lit up. He'd love the chance to get payback. The militia here isn't above torture.

I don't really WANT to kill my guys, I just want them to fucking leave me alone. But trust me, I will cut them down ruthlessly without hesitation if they try to get in my way. They are no longer my friends, or my men, now they are just targets. Its their own damn faults. They should not have interfered between me and Steph and Vince sure as hell shouldn't have touched what is mine. They sided with Steph and Vince, against me, so they get whatever the fuck they have coming.

Zip may have gotten tagged by my sniper, and alerted the other guards of their presence. Suddenly bullets are flying everywhere. He and some other guy run balls on across the field and trip my minefield. I see their bodies fly up with the explosion, and I'm pretty sure they are dead. But, no, they get up, although the one guy seems to have been shot in the abdomen. I've gotta give them credit, they are pretty damn tough, especially that Zip.

I take this diversion to leave the main building and run to the closet outbuilding. Shit. Ram sees me and starts chasing me. I have the hut pretty fortified, when he broke the window, the smoke bomb went off, and it blinded Ram and Lester more than me. From my crouched position on the floor of the hut, I see Ram and Lester point their weapons at me. "Don't make us shoot," Lester yells. No danger of that . They are hesitant to shoot me, and that tells me they won't. I guess because we all used to be friends. I , as I mentioned, don't really care about that. Right now my concern is Me.

So, I shoot.

Lester's POV

Before we could even react, Ranger got off three shots. We dove for cover, but one hit me square in the chest, the other was a chest shot at Ram. "Ugh," I hear Ram grunt as he falls to the ground. My chest is burning and I stagger to the ground. I can't believe Ranger actually shot us. For a moment, I just lay there unable to react, unable to breathe, unable to even think. The world seems to be moving in slow motion, like everyone is trying to run through molasses. I see Hal's mouth move, like he is yelling something, but the sound seems to be stuck in the molasses, too. I hate that fucking molasses.

Hal is running through the molasses towards me, and all I can think is how he looks kinda funny running slowly like that. He finally reached us. "Ram!, Lester!, he crouches toward us, worried that we are dead.

My mind can finally form a coherent thought and I can finally breathe enough to express it. I pull open my BDU jacket, showing the hole where the bullet and penetrated my Kevlar and stayed there.

"I'm ok, man," I tell Hal. It hit my Kevlar," and I see the look of relief on Hal's face. Ram's Kevlar too, stopped the bullet. Taking a bullet, even with a Kevlar vest on, is not fun. Especially with the .9mm high velocity ammo Ranger uses, and over such a short distance. The bullet hits and the Kevlar stops it from entering your body, but the force of it usually knocks you over and takes your breath away, some people even pass out briefly. Hence my minute or so in mindless, slow motion land. I can't believe ranger made the mistake that even brand new recruits are taught not to make- taking chest shots. One of the first things a soldier learns is to go for head shots, since most soldiers wear Kevlar to protect their chests. I wonder if Ranger planned it that way, or if he just shot in a hurry? Ram and I will probably have some bruised ribs, but otherwise, we'll be fine. He nodded and left.

I helped Ram up and, after just a few seconds, we followed after Hal to find Ranger.

Vince's POV

Steph loves the baby's room. After Tank and Binkie painted it, she talked Tank into putting those stencils of zoo animals on the walls. Now the room has a giant freaking giraffe and a zebra and a lion, and a bear on the walls. What the fuck? Lions and bears can't live in the same places. She wants our son to grow up thinking lions and bears would live together? Whatever happened to teddy bears and little deer for kids, anyway? Poor baby is going to have nightmares with all the freaking wild animals in this room. Steph is going to have to be the one to get up in the middle of the night when the baby starts screaming about being eaten by bears.

Between Bobby, Binkie, Tank , and I, we've managed to keep Steph entertained and occupied so she won't worry about the baby or the guys. We've even gotten her some water exercise DVDs so she can do some gentle stretching and swimming in the pool at Rangeman, as long as she stays in the shallow end. One of us is always with her there, though, because I'm afraid she'll have an attack in the pool and need help. And we want to make sure she doesn't overdo it. I know we are treating her almost like a child, but she is fragile right now. She hasn't really complained because she knows how important it is for her to stay calm and rest.

Not that I would deny Steph anything right now. Yesterday, she got upset because she couldn't shave her legs, so guess what I did? Yep, I shaved them for her. She told Binkie how sweet I was to do it, and he teased me mercilessly and threatened to tell the others how I had shaved a woman's legs. Fucker. But later, she talked him into painting her toenails for her. I took a picture of that, just in case I need it for leverage in the future. Old badass Binkie with a pink nail polish brush in his hand. Now we'll see if he tells anyone anything about me shaving legs.

I'm glad we made Steph feel beautiful though, because my mother insisted on throwing a baby shower for her. Mom wanted to have it at a restaurant, but I don't want Steph in a place where she can't sit comfortably, so Mom has decorated the house with balloons and confetti, and blue everything. I cannot believe the amount of screaming and screeching that has come from that room. 12 women can make a lot of noise. Thank you Jesus that men are not welcome at baby showers, because that has given Bobby and I a legitimate excuse to stay the hell away from there. I did peek in once to see if they needed anything, and they were playing some game that apparently involved wrapping Steph in TOILET PAPER? I will never fucking understand women. I was not even gonna ask about that one. I am probably better off not knowing.

The screeching, having to deal with a bunch of crazy women, it is worth it to see the look on Stephs' face when she went in there. Her eyes were sparkling in a way I hadn't seen them for a long time. Plus, the purpose of a shower is apparently to get a lot of cool presents for the baby. Bobby and I wince as another round of piercing squeals comes from the room. Steph might get a little excited, but this time it'll be happy excitement.

Hal's POV

I leave Ram and Lester to catch their breath and met up with Zip, Lew, and Stan. Zip had a shoulder wound that seemed pretty minor, but apparently Lew took shrapnel in the side from the bomb going off. It was a straight in and out wound, but it had been bleeding pretty steadily. He was holding a bandage over the wound. Other than that, he appeared unaffected.

I start to give directions. "Ranger ran towards this larger concrete outbuilding. Stan and I will go this way, and Zip, when Les and Ram catch up, go with one of them the other way and we'll try to trap him in. "Lew, why don't you stay here and take care of that…"

"I'm good," Lew said, his rifle ready in his left hand. " The bleeding is lessening and I can shoot almost as well with my left as I can with my right," he said. "I'll go with Zip. Les and Ram can take the center.

I must have given him a doubtful look because he smiled. " No worries, I'm good." He said with a smug grin. Those SEALS are tough fuckers and unstoppable.

Ranger must've been in too much of a hurry to conceal his tracks, or maybe he was just so cocky he figured he didn't need to. We are able to track him to a medium sized concrete building with an opening on each of three sides for a submachine gun to fit through.

Stan and I take cover in the heavy jungle and heardthe clicks on the radios signaling that Lew and Zip ware in place. Stan has spotting equipment similar to what snipers use, and he is trying to get a bead on who was in there with Ranger.

I hear rustling in the trees behind me, and turn, my weapon up and ready to fire. A split second before I would have fired, I heard the signal sound that Lester and Ram had caught up to us.

We communicate with hand signals that Lester and Ram would go do some recon to see how many of the military guys were out there, and the terrain of the surrounding area. Stan had been able to count six feet under the door, so that meant Ranger had two others in there with him.

"Ok, that place has no ventilation, so if we can get tear gas or a smoke grenade in there, they'd have to come out. ," I observe. Of course, since there were no windows, getting one in would be a bit tricky…

" I can sneak up under the machine gun opening and throw a grenade in through that. But I am going to need heavy cover. You be ready to shoot Ranger when he comes out." I hear myself say. Damn, I am fucking insane if I thought I stood a chance at succeeding, but we had to get Ranger out of there. Stan and I can see Zip and Lew in the jungle across the way and send hand signals to them conveying the plan. They belly crawl to the edge of the jungle, and , on my command, they start to throw up a barrage of cover fire, drawing the machine gun's fire toward them and away from me.

I run like hell across maybe thirty yards of open space, hoping that the other machine gunner wouldn't notice me, but halfway there, bullets start flying towards me. I can hear Stan firing from the jungle behind and to my left, trying to draw fire from me. I am fast for a big guy, and I run like hell, crouching just under the opening where the big machine gun was firing towards Stan. There is no way the guy operating that gun could see me unless he stuck his head out the hole, and I hope he was dumb enough to do that, because then Stan could shoot him.

I pulle the pin from the tear gas and smoke grenades, and stand up just enough to lob them through the hole, right past the machine gunner's body. I hear a "thunk" and instantly see smoke rising. The machine gun above me hadsstopped firing but Lew and Zip are still getting pummeled. I haul ass as fast as I can back to the cover of the jungle to wait for Ranger to be smoked out.

Steph's POV

I hear myself groan in ecstasy as the double cream blueberry pie melts in my mouth. I don't know how Emily found out how much I love this pie, but I am glad she decided to have it instead of cake at the shower. This pie is like an orgasm in your mouth. Not that I would know about that lately. Vince is afraid to touch me, afraid he'll hurt me or the baby. I didn't specifically ask the doctor about sex, but I bet Vince did.

I look down at my sundress covering the much larger mound of my stomach, then at my bright pink toes. Ok, so Binkie smeared it a little, and went out of the lines a bit when he painted them for me, but it's the thought that counts. That stuff takes practice, although I am sure Binkie will probably never in his life paint toenails again. My nails are pretty and my legs are smooth and I feel like a part of the world again.

Vince and the guys have been great at trying to keep me occupied, but I have felt so isolated, like the world is going on without me. That's why its been so great to see the women at the shower.

I look over at the table full of presents for the baby. The little layette set, the baby monitor, the teeny weeny little socks, the children's books… they make the baby real to me. Like I actually will be able to carry it another couple of weeks. That still won't be full term, but after two weeks from now, the baby would survive if they have to deliver it. I can feel myself smile. I am actually going to be a mom. I guess I've been so worried about losing the baby that I haven't really thought about actually having it. Vince and I. A picture flashes into my mind of Vince, shirtless, his tiny son nestled on his huge arm. It makes me smile. He will make such an awesome father. We have decided on a name for the baby, but I am afraid to make it public until he's actually born. I guess I am afraid that telling everyone our son's name is like tempting fate and cause me to lose him. Vince thinks that is silly, but he respects my fear enough not to tell anyone. I put my hand on my belly and feel our baby move. Just a couple more weeks little one.

Ram's POV

Lester and I scouted the area in each direction and were surprised to find all the guys still covered in the jungle when we got back. We had taken out five members of the Indonesian military and alleviated the immediate threat from the rear. There had been some helicopters circling overhead, military ones, looking for us, I'm sure. But Les and I kept to the trees so they couldn't get good shots at us.

As we joined Lew and Zip, I heard Zip say, " I can't fucking believe it. Hal is a crazy man. He ran up and threw tear gas and a smoke grenade through the machine gun port to smoke them out. I look at the structure with smoke billowing out of it.

"There's no one coming out, " I pointed out helpfully.

" I know. They must have gas masks," he said, grimacing." I said I'd throw the grenades, I didn't say they would work."

The sounds of the helicopters, now three of them , are deafening as they circle above the jungle, trying to get a fix on where we were. Luckily the foliage is too thick. And it seemed like they were flying really low.

Then, it suddenly hits me in the head, like the anvil hits the coyote in those old roadrunner cartoons. The copters were looking for us, but at least one of them was here for Ranger.

I grab Stan and pull him close enough so he could hear me over the damn whirring copter blades.

" Les and I found a small clearing on the other side of the building and about 50 yards east. It is probably big enough to land a copter. I think one of the ones circling is here to pick up Ranger." I am shouting at Stan to be heard over the damned helo.

Stan nods, instantly assessing the situation. One copter is here for Ranger, but the other two could easily take us all out if we weren't careful.

Hal and Lester will stay here to keep the structure covered. We aren't taking any chances on losing Ranger. The rest of us are regrouping at the edge of the jungle, near that clearing. I fucking bet one of those copters will land here for Ranger. He will have to run across this clearing to get to them. OF course, we will have to run across it to get to him, too. And that could be bad, since all three of those copters have gunners.

One of the copters strafes low, spraying the clearing and the edge of the jungle with cover fire. We all pancake as bullets whiz just inches from our heads. Right now they aren't sure of our exact location. If we return fire they will know where we are, so we lay low. The second copter stays higher, but I can see the gunner, scanning the jungle for us.

The copters circle low a couple times, shooting off strafing fire, I guess trying to intimidate us from crossing the clearing. Well, none of us fucking intimidates worth shit. Lew Koehl makes eye contact with me, his face is now grey from pain and blood loss, but the tough SOBe is still alert and moving. He makes eye contact with Zip and I. Zip is probably in pain, too, but his wound is relatively minor.

Lew motions towards the concrete building , then to the clearing,then to his rifle, then to us. Zip and I understand perfectly. We lay in the jungle, barely moving, barely even breathing, as the helos circle overhead. Finally, one helo comes in low and lands right in the clearing. The rotors are creating so much wind that leaves are flying everywhere, disrupting our cover.

A portion of the wall of the concrete building opens at the same time that the machine guns commences firing again. Ranger comes tearing out the opening, running like a bat out of hell for the copter. Zip, Lew, and Stan run like hell, too,drawing fire from the building and the helos. They are Les and Hal aregiving cover fire, and Lew and Zip are just wailing on their rifles as they run, shooting and trying to avoid the hail of bullets. The gunner on the copter opens up and suddenly bullets are flying in every direction. Stan is aiming for the helo's gas tank, hoping to hit it and blow the helo up.

Lew and Zip are taking heavy fire, drawing the machine guns and gunners' fire away from me, so I can get a good shot.I stand, and pull my sniper rifle. I sight Ranger trying to line him up in the crosshairs, following him as he is running to the copter. For a nansecond my mind flashes on Ranger and me when we were in the ARMY, what a great leader he was, how he was my best friend. Then for another split second, I see Vince lying in the hospital and it reminds me that Ranger not only almost killed a friend, he betrayed his country.

I push those visions out of my mind, as I finally get Ranger in my crosshairs. He is within 10 yards of the copter now. Ranger is a moving target, pretty far away, but I am the best sniper there is. I line him up in the center of the crosshairs, take a deep breath, and on the exhale I gently squeeze the trigger.

A second later, Ranger's pace suddenly halts, his body stiffens at the bullet hits him, and he falls.


	42. Chapter 42

Acceptance- Chapter 42

_Only a few more chapters left. Please leave reviews, as I live for them._

Ram's POV

A second later, Ranger's pace suddenly halts, his body stiffens as the bullet hits him, and he falls.

If this was a war movie, he'd be falling in slow motion, with a huge dramatic clutching of his wound and then a dramatic, slow motion fall. Music would swell in the background, indicating that this is a momentous event. But it wasn't a war movie, it was a real fucking war. And there were no dramatics. Just real bullets .Ranger fell hard and fast, amidst the bullets flying everywhere.

The guy in the machine gun turret of the building decides to cut his losses when he sees Ranger go down, and gets the hell out of there. The guys in the helos are still firing madly at Lew, Les , and Zip. The guys provide cover fire as Stan and Hal signal to each other. Stan has been shooting frantically at the hovering helo's gas tank in between dodging bullets from the gunner. One of Stan's rounds finally penetrates at exactly the right spot and BOOOMMM! There is suddenly a giant fireball in midair, where the copter used to be. The force of it knocks me down and the heat of it is incredible. Two crazy druggie motherfuckers out of the picture. The sound of the explosion this close leaves my ears ringing for a second.

If I could, I'd take time to appreciate what a beautiful thing the explosion was. After all, guys, especially guys like us , love things that blow up, especially if we are just watching the explosion, as opposed to being IN it. I don't have time though. Debris from the exploded helo land everywhere, catching the trees on fire, and almost instantaneously, the fire starts to spread in the treetops.. Holy fuck! That's not good.

The second copter circles, then , not wanting to have to deal with the insane Americans and a jungle on fire, it ascends and takes off. There is only one copter left now ,the one that had landed for Ranger. The gunner in it is whaling on the trigger, the pilot is trying to take off to avoid the debris and the treetop fire. Zip and Stan provide cover fire so that gunner has to shoot out the right side of the plane while Hal and Stan sneak up on the right side. The helo has made it only about three feet off the ground. Hal actually grabs the rotor of the helo and Stan grabs the other and together they bring it back down. They are fucking animals. Lew and Zip They simultaneously knock both the pilot and the gunner off the helo and shoot them.

I run across the field to Ranger. He is semi-conscious, a hollow point bullet wound in his thigh bleeding heavily. I drag him out of the clearing. No, I did not miss when I shot him. I am the best there is. I don't miss. What I aim for, I kill. But I knew Ranger was wearing a vest, and I couldn't bring myself to pop him with a headshot, so I went for his femur. He feels like a ton of dead weight, slowing me down as I drag him to the helo. Lester comes up to help me, and neither of us are being especially gentle with him. We don't leave anyone behind. Ever. Even if the someone is a fucking traitor who tried to kill us.

The fucking Indonesian idiots actually solved a major problem for us. We were trying to figure out how we'd get back across the island to the itty bitty shitty boats and off the island. Problem solved, we now have a fucking helo. Lew and Zip tumble into the back, Lester climbs in behind the gun turret, and I drag Ranger onto the helo. Holy fuck! Hal is getting into the pilot seat! I don't think he knows how to fly one of these. This could be a huge goatfuck.

Hal's POV

Holy shit. The entire jungle is fucking on fire, and Ram shot Ranger. Stan and I are able to grab the helo rotors when they are just a few feet off the ground. The guys all pile on, in the back. The whole fucking jungle is on fire and we have to get the fuck out of here now. Lew and Zip are injured pretty badly, Lester is gunning, and Ram is giving them first aid, so I guess its up to Stan and me to fly this thing out of here. I've never flown a helo before, but really, how hard can it be?

I look back to make sure everyone is on board. Lew, the SEAL, looks grey, and having done his job despite being wounded, has slipped into semi-consciousness now that his job is over. He has a wound in his side and has lost a lot of blood. Zip's shoulder wound has opened up, but he is helping to put a dressing on Lew. Ram is tying a tourniquet on Ranger's leg. Well, at least Ranger isn't dead. Although if they don't stop the arterial bleeding gushing out of his leg, he will be soon.

Fuck. We need to get the hell out of here in a hurry, before the fire in the fucking jungle ignites our helo. I give stan a "what the hell" look and jerk the stick to take us up. We are buffeted by the wind from the fire and its heat, and the ascent is choppy. The helo dips back toward the ground. Fuck. With six massive guys plus Ranger, I think we are at the upper weight limits of this thing.

I pull back again hard on the stick and we jerk quickly into the air. Lester shoots from the machine gun ports at some approaching soldiers, and the recoil makes the entire copter shake.

"Hey Marine, do you need one of us NAVY guys to come up and help you with that?" comes a joking cry from the back. I think it was Lew, fucking crazyass.

Stan give me a "NAVY pilots are better than Marines" look as I finally get the helo enough power to rise past the flames. We just go in a 360 degree circle for a minute or two, until I figure out how to go forward.

I look back at the guys and see Zip with a huge fucking grin on his face. "Shit. What a rush. Don't you fucking miss this, man?" Despite being shot at, and wounded, the guys are having fun. Fucking freaks. I had to admit that I missed the regular aderenaline rush, too. . Stan looked at the charts to find where Jakarta was. That is the closest island with any kind of decent medical care. Now that I finally figured out how to make this damn thing go forward, I hope we have enough gas to get there.

Bobby's POV

I went out with Binkie this morning to service a few of the accounts. We actually had a rough call. A skip wanted for assault ran on us. Binkie and I had to chase him and, well, lets just say I got a chance to beat the fuck out of him. The skip, that is,not Binkie. It made me feel so good to get into the rough stuff again. I am, after all , not just a medic. I miss the excitement of combat, and part of me wishes I could be in Indonesia with the guys hunting down Ranger. Plus, beating the fuck out of someone is a great release from all the tension we've had over Ranger and worrying about Steph. I told Vince I'd take Steph to the pool today so he can get in a good run and a workout. So, with all the aggression worked out of me for today, I am ready.. I go to the townhouse, and she and Vince are sitting in the bedroom. She is holding up all these baby clothes that she got at the shower, and Vince is pretending to be interested. I mean, how many pairs of little blue shirts can you get excited over?

Vince catches sight of me out of the corner of his eye, and jumps up, relieved at the interruption. He mouths the words, "Thanks, man" over the top of Steph's head, relieved that I saved him from looking at yet another baby shirt or pair of baby socks.

"Bobby? Can you come here a sec? Vince and I want to talk to you." Steph calls. Oh shit. I look at the mound of stuff surrounding her. Is that a …breast pump….? Yuck. I exchange a look with Vince andwe both cringe . I don't even want to think about her using that, and I don't think Vince does , either.

I sit next to Steph and she hugs me. "Bobby, you have taken such good care of me, even with everything that has happened with Ranger, and Vince getting shot, and now the baby…"

Vince gave a little grin, " Yeah, dude. When you promised to take care of Steph for me, you had no idea how much work it would be."

I just nodded. I didn't know what the hell to say. Yes, it has been very stressful, but Vince is my best friend, he knows I'd do anything for him. Same for Steph. Where was this going? Was Vince going to ask another favor?

Steph took my hand. " I know that Vince wouldn't be alive, and me and the baby probably wouldn't be either if it weren't for you." Ok, awkward. I am not good at expressing myself, so I didn't know what the hell to say.

" I don't want to tell anyone the name of the baby, because I'm afraid that if I do, it'll be like tempting fate, and then I will lose him, but, well… we need to tell you."

My face must have reflected my confusion, because Vince said," Dude. We want to name the baby Michael Robert Sonterra, in your honor. And we'd like you to be little Michael's godfather."

I was stunned and for a moment I felt my eyes sting. Shit. Were those tears welling up way behind my eyeballs somewhere? They wanted me to be little Michael Robert's godfather? Hell, I didn't know exactly what a godfather did, but I knew it was a great honor to be asked. And naming the baby…

Steph took my silence for disagreement and said, " If you don't want to…"

I finally found my voice and said, " I'd love to. I am so honored. And Dude, I am so going to teach him how to be a badass, like Uncle Bobby."

Vince laughed and stood and we did the man handshake thing. I could tell he was just as glad as I was that the heavy emotional shit was over.

"Steph, get into your suit. 'll be back in twenty to take you to the pool.

Steph really likes to do water stretches. They are gentle, and let her get a little easy exercise in the water. Usually, I get into the pool with her, but she hates that. So today I am just sitting on a chair next to the pool, reading Guns and Ammo magazine. The DVD Steph uses for the stretches is pretty annoying, with somechick with an obnoxiously perky voice. I could see Steph doing the gentle stretches in my peripheral vision.

My attention is called back to the pool by a loud gasp and a splash. I jump up to see Steph almost doubled over in the pool, clutching her large abdomen, almost staggering in the water. "Steph," I yelled, and jumped in to help her out. "Are you ok?" She was gasping for air around the cramps. " I just got cramps and then I got lightheaded and lost my balance," She gasped. I pick her up and carry her out of the pool, laying her on the chaise chair. She starts to shiver as soon as she gets out of the water, so I wrap her in beach towels. "Calm down , honey, and just breathe." I grab the medic kit, and wrap the BP cuff around her arm. Shit. Her blood pressure is so fucking high, I'm afraid she's going to start seizing. I try to calm her down, as I take her pulse. It is racing.

"My head hurts and I am dizzy," she said, starting to panic. "Bobby, I don't want to lose the baby," She cried. "Shhh..Steph, honey. Its ok. We'll get you help." I put her feet up, then call 911, relaying her symptoms, history, and vitals. Then I call her doctor to have him meet us at the ER. "Your blood pressure is really high. You have to calm down." I tell her. I call Vince, and he is 12 miles out for his run. I tell him to meet us at the ER."I knew this would happen if I told anyone the baby's name," she cries, tears running down her face.

Steph is still gasping and panicking crying about losing the baby, as I carefully carry her upstairs to meet the ambulance. What the fuck am I supposed to say? That she wasn't going to lose the baby? I couldn't promise that. Hell, eclampsia is often fatal to the mother. I can't even bear the thought of losing Steph. I hear myself whispering something soothing to her, telling her to calm down, not to panic. But I am fucking panicking inside. What the fuck happened? .Fuck.

"Steph, it'll be ok. You and my little godson will be fine," I tell her, but I am probably lying.

Vince came running into the ER, still sweaty from his run. He had put on a shirt, but that was it. I have been sitting in the waiting room for 20 minutes, since the ambulance brought us in.

Vince Is panicked. "What happened?", he asked , his voice shaking.

"She was doing her stretches in the pool and she got lightheaded and camps. Her blood pressure was 200/120, which is dangerously high. She started to seize in the ambulance. It looks like the eclampsia we've been trying to avoid," I tried to sound clinical and objective, but this was Steph. My best friend's wife and a woman I loved like a sister.

"What about the baby?" he asks. " I don't know for sure. This attack is probably bad enough that they'll want to deliver it. But , they have a great neonatal ICU here."

Vince's eyes are glazed. He looks stunned. He knew this could happen, but until it does you always try to pretend it can't. We both pace back and forth in front of the couch in the waiting area, trying to get out some of the nervous tension.

About 30 minutes later, her OB/GYN came out, looking tired.

"Mr. Sonterra?" he said to Vince. Vince jumped up, running his fingers nervously through his hair.

"You know your wife has a history of high blood pressure and preeclampsia. Her blood pressure is dangerously high, and we haven't been able to get it to come down. She has started seizing, which risks depriving her or the baby of oxygen. The high blood pressure has also caused the placenta to begin to separate from the wall of the uterus. "

Vince stared, stunned, as the doc delivered the bottom line.

"Eclampsia can be fatal to the fetus and the bleeding and seizing can cause maternal death."

"So, um, what do we do?" Vince stammered.

"Well, we will definitely have to do an emergency C-section to deliver the baby, even though its earlier than we'd like. Once the baby is delivered, we should be able to get Stephanie's blood pressure down.

"But you need to know, it is possible that Steph or the baby could die even if we do the C section. But it is almost guaranteed they will die if we don't."

The doctor handed Vince a consent form and he signed it without hesitation.

Vince looked stunned and almost fell back onto the waiting room couch. His head was in his hands, his palms rubbing his face. His hands were actually trembling. I knew how he felt. His agony was only slightly greater than mine. I loved Steph like a sister, and it was my responsibility to take care of her.

I just stood there in silence while Vince held his face in his hands. Finally he raised his head, his eyes eyes red, and said in a trembling voice. "Bobby, I could lose them both."


	43. Chapter 43

Acceptance- Chapter 43

_Only two more chapters after this one. Please leave feedback , as I live for it._

Ram's POV

Well, what the hell do you know? Hal really did know how to fly a helo. Or if he didn't, he did a great job of faking it. It took him a few minutes to get it down pat, we spent a minute or so just turning 360 circles in the air, so Hal had that down. But then he figured out how to go forward and so forward we went. He and Stan will have to eventually learn to land this thing, but we'll deal with that when we have to.

We are like the flying wounded. Zip's wound is the least severe. He has a bullet wound in his shoulder that isn't life threatening, but it is a giant pain in the ass. It probably will require surgery and physical therapy sometime in his near future. Lew Koehl, the SEAL, has a bullet in the abdominal region. It seems to have gone completely through, and we have managed to stop the bleeding. So he will need surgery, but, unless infection does him in, he should be ok, eventually, too. He, of course, is living up to the SEAL reputation of being absolutely unstoppable. His face is gray and he is only partially conscious, but he is still talking, discussing the plan to get the hell out of Jakarta. The SEALS are tough SOBs.

Zip helped patch up Lew, leaving Les and I to Ranger. Thank God Lester is here. Between he and I, we both have some basic field medical training, but we aren't medics. We have been worried about Ranger. Yes, even though I shot him, and he betrayed his country and his friends, I would prefer that he be taken to trial alive. I deliberately went for a leg shot to disable him and not a head shot, that would have killed him instantly. The problem is, I am such a damn good shot, that I got his femoral artery, and we have not yet been able to completely stop the bleeding.

Ranger is lying across the floor of the helo, in and out of consciousness, and the tourniquet we have cinched hard around his leg is only partially stopping the bleeding. Blood is still seeping around it. There is probably a lot of peripheral damage from the bullet as well. When he is partially conscious he is mumbling about how we are all fired. Yeah, asshole, we sorta got that already. I can't believe that, even now, he doesn't seem to be the least bit repentant.

His eyes are closed, but he mumbles, " You missed your shot."

Fucker. I did not. He knows he's hit exactly where I wanted him to be. He's still just taunting, just trying to be an asshole.

Lester and I shook out heads, our eyes meeting, then both looking down at Ranger. Fucker. Lester leaned over him, " Ranger, are you in a lot of pain?"

Ranger's eyes were closed, but he nodded.

Lester said, " Sorry, man. We have morphine, but your blood pressure is so low if we gave it to you know, it would kill you." Lester said that with a tiny bit of a smile, and I was pretty sure he wasn't hating the fact that Ranger was in pain. It served him right. Well, if we couldn't get the bleeding to stop, he wouldn't be in pain for long. Lew had stopped talking to the guys in the front about where and when to land. Zip had finally gotten him to lie back a bit.

Koehl's eyes wandered to Ranger. "This is the fucker who betrayed his country?" he asked, clearly disgusted. He toed Ranger's shoulder hard with the toe of his boot. Ranger's eyes opened slightly, searchingly, then focused on Lew's.

Zip sat between Lew and Ranger, looking at Lew worriedly,as if he were expecting Lew to launch himself at Ranger. Lew looked down at Ranger, whose eyes barely opened.

" You are the motherfucker who sabotaged a US Special Forces mission and betrayed one of your own teammates. You are a traitor to your country" he barked at Ranger. "You are a dead man. If you survive that," he said, pointing to the bullet wound, " I'll fucking kill you myself." He held Ranger in his steady stare until Ranger looked away first.

Lester's POV

The issue now is how to get to the hospital in Jakarta without attracting more attention that we already have. We ARE supposed to be covert after all. Even in Jakarta, the drug trade is huge, and there are lots of fuckers who'd love to kill American soldiers. Even if we aren't "officially" American soldiers on this mission.

After the gunfight and then the fucking explosions on Parwati, that covert status was blown to hell. Except that Parwati was a very remote island. It had no cell reception and poor radio waves. It was possible that the mainland Jakarta may not yet know about the group of covert ops who opened up a can of whoopass on Parwati.

Our big problem was how to get the hell out of Indonesia. Its not like we can just buy a ticket on a fucking commercial plane. We are military operating covertly here. We still have to stay under the radar.

Lew and Zip are removing their gear and fatigues, trying to look as little like a soldier as possible. We took off the Kevlar, and stripped to a tshirt and DVU pants. There were enough quasi-military around here that BDU pants wouldn't be considered unusual. Ram and I were stripping down, and trying to get the Kevlar and equipment off Ranger. He had faded into complete unconsciousness, and the jostling had started his leg bleeding pretty severely again.

Hal's POV

I finally see the hospital. Good thing, cause we are almost out of fuel. There is a small clearing about 20 yards away where I can put it down. IF I can figure out how the hell to put it down. Just the opposite of what I did going up, right?

Stan yells into the back, " Get the wounded ready. We'll land fast and then run our wounded in."

"Pull in the machine gun so we might look like just a civilian copter."

Les pulled the machine gun more into the helo, but close enough that he could still fire if he had to.

Ok, landing a helo is harder than it looks and way harder than taking off. But, I wasn't trying to win any fucking style points. The first time I brought it down, we were a bit too tilted , and only landed on one skid. Fuck. I pulled back on the stick to take us up a few feet again while enduring the mocking comments from the guys. The SEALS think NAVY pilots are better than Marines, lets see that asshole Stan fly this thing. Instead of laughing his ass off. Only one "do voer" isn't bad.

I finally lowered us so we were straight and both skids touched the ground. The landing was bumpy, but it certainly didn't qualify as a crash landing.

As soon as we hit the ground, Zip helped Lew, how was still walking , mostly under his own power, while Lester and Ram carried Ranger. As soon as they picked him up, the leg wound started to bleed profusely again.

Ram's POV

As soon as we got here, they whisked Ranger and Lew onto stretchers and into ERs. Lew was still up and functioning, he didn't look so bad. Ranger looked terrible. He was unconscious and most of his lower half was covered in blood.

A nurse took Zip over to a small curtained area, I guess to examine and dress his shoulder wound. I could hear him telling her that since the bullet had gone straight through, she could just disinfect it and bandage it for him.

The hospital looked basic, clean, but certainly not high tech. The equipment was mostly obsolete and outdated. But we weren't her for some complicated reconstructive surgery. Just patch up the fucking holes and lets get going ASAP to the US, where there were real hospitals.

Stan, Lester , Hal and I sat in the waiting room, planning our next move. We sure as hell couldn't get back to civilization in just a helo. We wouldn't be completely safe until we got to the airbase in Germany, over 6,000 miles away.

"Semper Fi, Marine," Stan said, clapping Hal on the back. " That was not bad flying," he admitted. "if you want to learn to do it the right way, we NAVY guys can arrange that ." We all chuckled and Hal turned bright red.

Stan gets on the radio to who -fucking -knows –who and suddenly announces that we can hop an a C-130 leaving from Jakarta that will take us to the US Airbase in Saudi Arabia. How the hell does he do that shit? All we had to do was wait until Lew and Ranger were patched up enough to fly a few hours, grab them, and get the hell out of this cesspool of a country.

"How the fuck do you do that stuff, man?" I asked.

Stan grinned and shrugged. "SEAL."

Zip finished getting patched up, and he too joined us waiting. Hal and I walk out to the copter to salvage whatever food we can. We hide our equipment where we can pick it up again. It isn't like we came in her stealthily. Everyone heard the copter and saw the ,um, unusual landing. It wouldn't be long until the locals came to check it out. And when they heard about what happened on Parwati…well, lets just say it would be best if we were long gone by then.

We just sat on the damn folding chairs, waiting for the adrenaline rush to fade. My body was perfectly still, but I could feel the throbbing through my limbs, the adrenaline coursing out of my system. One look at the other guys told me they were experiencing the same thing. We hadn't had even a moment of calm since we infiltrated Parwati n the IBS. I couldn't believe that after all that had happened, we had finally found Ranger. I shouldn't have been surprised. Rangers always accomplished their missions. We just accomplished ours with a bit more noise and attention than we should have.

It seemed like forever before a nurse came out to tell us that Lew was patched up and stable. That was good. I didn't want any of us to die on this mission, but especially not the SEALS. After all, they really had nothing to do with any of this. They just came when asked to help out Bobby, a former teammate. Or as the SEALS would say, "once a teammate, always a teammate." Just like with Marines, there was no such thing as "former-."

About twenty minutes later, a small man in a white coat that we assume is the doctor came out to us, and spoke in very heavily accented English.

" You friend, the one you call Ranger…" he hesitated.

"We were unable to stop his bleeding and he died on the operating table."

Lester's POV

We all just looked at each other, the room filled with stunned silence. I felt as if someone had just smacked me in the face. What the fuck? Ranger…dead? How could he be dead? I mean, hell, he's dead because Ram fucking shot him, but I never imagined he'd DIE. Ranger had survived torture, he made made it through everything.

After the moment of shock passed, we all seemed to recover our voices at the same time.

"Are you sure?," all of us asked, almost in unison.

" Yes, I am sorry. We were unable to stop the bleeding and he passed away," the doctor repeated himself in easier words, obviously thinking were were stupid.

Ram, Zip, and I looked at each other. None of us believe, really believed, that Ranger had died. Ranger probably paid the doc to tell us he was dead and then snuck out the back way. It was something he'd do, hell, it was just like things we'd done on earlier missions.

Zip and Ram spoke up. " We want to see him," we said.

" He has passed away," said the doctor.

"Yes, we heard that. We'd like to see his body, please. Now." I said, walking right past him towards the OR. The doctor opened the door for us and then left us alone for a moment.

Ram's POV

Ranger lay on the table, his fatigues ripped open, our tourniquet on the floor, his bottom limbs covered in blood. He still had a few wires attached to his chest. He was absolutely still. I kept expecting him to suddenly jump up and start laughing at us. The three of us just looked at each other. Ranger was good at deception, but if this was a ruse, it was a damn genius one.

Zip went up and touched his neck, after a moment he looked up and met our eyes. Ranger really was dead. I instantly felt tears prick my eyes, and suddenly the whole room got blurry. I had killed him. Don't get me wrong. I have killed a LOT of terrorists and felt nothing but recoil. They fucking deserved to die. I tried to stop the tears before they spilled into my eyes in front of the guys. I didn't regret shooting Ranger. I had done my best not to kill him, but he died anyway. Not like he didn't deserve to die. He betrayed his country, tried to kill Vince twice, almost caused Steph to lose her baby… but, there was good in him. At least there had been. Now I wasn't so sure.

I felt relieved, but also guilty. I wasn't used to feeling guilty. I fucking do what has to be done and that is it. I knew that the guys knew how I was feeling. Zip walked past me, putting his hand on my shoulder. " I'll get him ready to go." Lester clapped me on the shoulder, then walked over to Ranger and started taking off the wires, preparing to put Ranger into a body bag.


	44. Chapter 44

Acceptance-Chapter 44

_I have a bunch of things to do today, including run, but this chapter popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it down. Probably only one more chapter to go after this. Maybe 2. _

_ Please leave feedback, as I live for it._

Vince's POV

Time is a curious thing. When you are doing something fun, like laughing, drinking beer, or having sex,o r seeing your child grow up, it seems to fly past, hours seem like seconds. But when you are doing something you hate, or waiting for something, or crouched under leaves doing recon for hours hoping the tangoes don't spot you, or when sitting in the white, antiseptic smelling waiting room of an intensive care unit waiting to see if your child will make it into his world and if your wife will survive his birth, time creeps by. Seconds seem to take hours, every tick of that damn annoying clock just reminds you how slowly time seems to be passing for you, but how quickly their lives may be slipping away.

They gave me a few minutes to see Steph before they took her in for the surgery. She was only semiconscious from the anesthesia for the Cesarean. She was surrounded by machines, IVs, heart monitor, a machine that monitored the baby. The flashes and beeping indicating the fragility of her condition. I felt so helpless, like I had failed to protect her from something. But in reality, I had done this to her. Part of me decided that if she survived this, I'd never touch her again.

'Vince," she whispered. " I am so scared."

Fuck. So was I. Scared in a way I never have been, even when I was outnumbered and under fire. Not even when it was I who was fighting for my life. I was so scared of losing my son , but especially of losing Steph. For a moment, I just wanted to sit there and give in to the worry, let the tears fall, anything to get rid of this feeling of terror that was overcoming me, but I quickly snapped myself out of it. Steph needed my strength . She'd been strong for me when I had been shot, I need to be strong for her now.

I cleared my throat so that my voice seemed confident. I didn't want her to think that not surviving this was even an acceptable option. I stroked her hair. "it'll be ok, honey. You are a fighter, and so is little Michael." I was trying to keep her calm, so her blood pressure wouldn't rise any more.

" He can't be born. Its too early. We'll lose him," she cried. I watched the monitor registering our son's fragile life inside her. His life inside her was what was killing her. We didn't know if he'd ever see this world.

I was terrified of losing the baby, but to be honest I was more terrified of losing Steph. I'd be devastated if we lost my son, but I don't think I could go on if I lost her. But I knew if they didn't deliver him, even at this too early stage, she'd die. I watched the machine above her register her dangerously high blood pressure. I knew it was possible I'd never see her again, and I felt tears prick my eyes.

"I need you, to fight for me , honey. Stay strong," I kissed her forehead.

The nurse came up to her gurney to wheel her into the OR. " Mr. Sonterra, you will need to leave now. We need to get your wife into surgery immediately."

I didn't want to let go of her, afraid I might not get her back. I might be saying goodbye for the final time so wanted her to know, " I love you so much, Steph. " My voice cracked and I swallowed my tears.

I put my hand over the mound of her stomach." Daddy loves you Michael," I told the baby.

" I love you , too, Vince. Tell Bobby thanks and I love him. And the guys.." Steph was worried that she might be saying goodbye for the last time, and she wanted to make sure she said everything she wanted to.

"You can tell them yourself soon, honey. I'll see you soon." I said as the nurse pulled the gurney away, pulling my hand from Steph's. I didn't want to give Steph the idea that it was even an option for her not to survive the surgery.

I passed Bobby as I was going out and he was going in. I couldn't make eye contact with him, my eyes were filled with tears that I couldn't control.

"They'll let me come in to observe since I have worked in this OR before. I'll be with her. "

He noticed my tears. "Unless you'd like me to stay with you, man."

Tank and Binkie had come to sit with me. Not that they could do any good. Not that they could prevent my entire world from crumbling around me. No one had the ability to prevent that.

Steph and Michael needed Bobby more than I did.

"Take care of them, man," I managed to choke out. He nodded, and slapped me on the back, "I will."

Tank and Binkie were in the waiting room. I went over to them. "How's Steph and the baby?" Binikie asked. I snapped myself back to calm, able to handle anything Vince. " Her blood pressure is so high she's going to stroke out if they don't deliver him, maybe even if they do. But I don't know if he's big enough to survive."

I was embarrassed that my voice broke and tears filled my eyes in front of the guys. Binkie just looked away to lessen my embarrassment and clapped me on the back and said, " They'll make it, man. You just have to believe that." I sank down into a chair, while Binkie just wandered aimlessly in the hallway. Tank got me a coffee, then paced. I'd never seen either of them so uptight, so unable to keep still, but then I realized that they were worried about her , too. They loved her too. All the guys did.

We waited, the heavy silence in the room finally broken by the urgent ringing of Tank's phone. The duty nurse glared at him, so he took it into the outer hall.

I heard his muffled voice, " Yeah,man, we're at the hospital. Steph had an attack and her blood pressure got so high she's likely to stroke out or have a heart attack. They only way they can save her is by taking the baby, and, well, its kinda early for that, soo…" Tank's voice tapered off.

"Yeah, I will." Tank said after a pause.

Then another pause. "What? No fucking way." Now I heard something in his voice that I'd never heard before- surprise. " Really?" Pause. "Are you sure?" What the fuck happened?" Long pause while Tank listened.

"Is anyone else hurt?"

Another pause. "Ok, where are you now?"

"Report when you land. Hopefully we'll have some good news for you by then. Good job, man."

Tank hung up the phone and came into the waiting area. Binkie was sitting across from me, repeatedly opening and closing his cuffs back and forth. We both looked up when Tank came in.

"Guys, that was Lester. Ranger's dead."

Lester's POV

Ram, Hal, Zip and I sat in the back of the huge transport plane we'd hopped on out of Jakarta. Lew Koehl was in the front compartment with a medic, on a hospital gurney, recovering from the surgery on his abdominal wound. His teammate Stan was up there with him. Koehl had protested flying back on a gurney, but his wound was severe, he couldn't even sit up, and he'd lost a lot of blood. Lew outranked Stan. In the end Stan, had had to relieve Lew of his command since he was injured. That made Stan in command and he ordered Lew onto the gurney, so Lew had to obey. I'm sure Lew will get back at him for that later. SEALS are fucking insane.

The cargo plane isn't like a commercial aircraft. It mainly hauls cargo, with a few uncomfortable seats against the bulkheads for passengers. Right now the only cargo, looking miniscule in this monstrous space, was a temporary, sealed wooden coffin, fastened securely to the hooks on the floor of the plane right between our seats. It contained Ranger.

The loud engine sounds were muffled making the cavernous space eerily quiet. I just stared at the coffin. I still couldn't believe it was Ranger in there. But I knew it was. Ram, Hal, and I still hadn't quite believed he was dead, so we watched him for awhile to make sure he really wasn't breathing. Then, we packed the body of our longtime friend into a body bag, surrounded it with ice as if he was just a side of meat, and put him into this travel coffin.

"Did you report to Tank?" Ram asked.

"Yeah. I guess Steph is in pretty bad shape. She had some kind of attack that raised her blood pressure so high she was in danger of a stroke or heart attack, so they have to take the baby to save her. They were at the hospital waiting "

"isn't it too soon?" Zip asked, after doing the math in his head.

"Yeah, its probably too soon for the baby to survive. But if they don't take it, even if they do, Steph will die."

"Shit," was all Hal said. Steph and Vince didn't deserve this. They'd been through so much. Vince had almost died, then Steph got pregnant.

My eyes went back to that wooden box and I realized that almost all of the problems Vince and Steph had were caused or made worse by the man who lay in it.

What the fuck had happened? Ranger had been my hero. Strong, unstoppable, fierce, always fighting for good against evil. He really was a lot like Batman. He'd saved my ass, all of our asses, a few times in combat. There were a few times, he'd out himself in danger, made himself the target of the terrorist bullets, to save us. So how the hell did that man, that hero, become the evil, traitorous, murderous bastard we'd seen the last few months? What the fuck had happened to the real Ranger?

I stared at the coffin, still trying to believe that Ranger was in it-dead. Not just hiding out in a coffin while making an escape from enemies on missions, which he had done. No, I imagined Ranger's muscled body, with which he so routinely tortured us on the mats, his rock hard chest, which would never again be filled with air, his temple, now so cold, lifeless, and perpetually still, never to move again. Guys like Ranger didn't just die. It didn't happen. A part of me still expected the lid of that coffin to pop open and Ranger to jump out, perfectly healthy, and yell, "got you, assholes."

Ram was staring at the coffin too. Hell, there was no way we could avoid staring at it. But the look on Ram's face told me he felt guilt for killing Ranger. He'd eliminated plenty of targets, but he'd never ever had to shoot someone who'd been his friend.

Zip put his good arm around Ram's shoulders in a manly show of comfort. "Dude, you had to do it. If you didn't he'd have gotten away, maybe come back to hurt Vince or Steph again."

Ram sighed. " I know I had to do it. But I deliberately went for a leg shot so I didn't kill him. And then he bleeds out."

Hal had been almost perfectly silent. " Look, guys, I don't …didn't," he said, correcting himself to past tense" know Ranger as long or as well as you did. But I know that he'd much rather have been shot down than rotting behind some prison bars forever, locked up like an animal. You know he'd have hated that."

Hal was right, but none of us had wanted to be the one who actually shot him. He had been our friend.

I saw a crisp American flag, still wrapped, ready to be placed on Ranger's final coffin, as a tribute to his military service. But after he served his country, he betrayed it, so he didn't really deserve to wear the flag, did he? On the other hand, does one betrayal cancel the years of service and all the times he'd put his life on the line, the people he'd saved? I wasn't sure. But I wouldn't be the one to make that decision, anyway.

I looked again at Ranger's coffin and then sighed, closed my eyes, and tried to get some sleep.

Bobby's POV

I ran into the delivery room just behind Steph's stretcher. Even with the huge mound of her stomach, she was dwarfed by all the equipment. Heart and blood pressure monitors, baby heart monitor, tiny incubator for little Michael. I hoped my little godson was strong enough and formed enough to survive coming out of his mom so early. Because Steph was definitely going to die if he didn't get delivered.

No sooner had the thought entered my head than Steph's body started to seize and spasm violently, making the gurney squeak loudly, then she fell still. I heard a few alarms beep frantically, then start to squeal , and then the doctors working around Steph were moving much more quickly.

Her high blood pressure had caused her to have a heart attack, as feared. Now this wasn't just a premature Cesearean delivery, it was an emergency , premature Cesarean delivery in the attempt to save the mother's life. Steph was literally dying, and in cases like this, the welfare of the mother came first.

I watched a team surround Steph, working to revive her. You was young and healthy, she could survive this.

Suddenly, there was chaos, as another team surrounded her abdomen, making an incision. There were probably about 10 people there, a team working on Steph, another to deliver the baby.

Steph had thus far not responded to the efforts of those working on her.

But I knew that in cases like this, once you took the baby, the mother could often be revived.

The delivery took only a couple of minutes . Another team surrounded the baby, who was blue and not breathing, and suddenly there weren't enough people. They laid him down and someone called me over to start suctioning him. The doc rubbed his tiny chest to try to stimulate his little, underdeveloped lungs, and he finally took his first, shaky breath. They took his APGAR and whisked him off to the neonatal ICU. Little Michael Robert Sonterra, my godson, had arrived into the world a bit early, and hopefully in time to save his mother.


	45. Chapter 45

Acceptance- Chapter 45

_**Author's Note: **_

_**This is the last actual chapter, then the epilogue. I couldn't decide how to end this story, so I wrote two versions of this chapter . I will probably post the alternate, angst-tier one at the end (after the epilogue) for those who want to read it. This story has been a catharsis for me through several rough periods in my life in the last few years. I am sad to see it end. Thanks to all my readers. Your acceptance of my unusual interpretation of Ranger has meant so much to me. **_

_**Please leave reviews. As you know, I live for them.**_

Vince's POV

"No fucking way," Binkie said, his voice filled with disbelief.

For a moment, there was stunned silence in the room. Ranger. Dead. We knew that it could happen, but no one really expected that it would. He was Ranger, and Ranger was indestructible. The quiet anxiousness in the waiting room was joined by other emotions- surprise, relief, sadness , and, in my case, satisfaction. I will probably go to hell for this, but I was glad that fucker Ranger was dead, and I was disappointed that it hadn't been at my hand. He deserved to die, not just for what he did to me, or even what he did to his country by sabotaging my mission, but more importantly, for what he did to Steph. He had tossed away her love and treated her like a plaything. He made her miserable and indirectly led to the life and death battle she and Michael were now fighting. My son may never get to live because of that asshole. He might have taken my family, my future, away from me. Motherfucker deserved worse than death. I hoped it had been drawn out and painful.

There was silence, during which Binkie and Tank both stared at me. Then Binkie asked,' What the hell happened?"

Like I fucking cared. All that mattered was that fucker was dead. He'd never be able to hurt Steph or my son.

I wasn't really paying attention to Tank and Binkie's discussion of Ranger. I didn't want to hear it. The people I cared about were behind those OR doors.

"Apparently, they caught up with Ranger and there was a big gunfight. Ranger tried to escape so Ram shot him in the leg. He must have clipped the artery, because Ranger bled out."

"Any of the guys hurt?," Binkie asked.

"Zip has a minor shoulder wound, and Bobby's SEAL friend Lew was shot in the abdomen, but they will both be ok."

That was good. Not only didn't I want my friends hurt, but no one else should die because of Ranger.

I didn't realize I had been pacing for the last 20 minutes, something unheard of for me. Years of military training had taught me patience, fortitude, and practicality, but these qualities deserted me now .I was always the guy that took fucked up situations and fixed them. But this wasn't something I could fix. My eyes stung from trying to hold back tears. I kept looking over towards the door through which they had taken Steph. She could be dying right this minute. Or Michael. He was only at 29 weeks, and I knew that meant he would be underdeveloped and will have to fight to survive. Dammit, man Don't even think that. Don't even think she won't survive. They have to. So they will.

I hated feeling helpless, powerless. My wife and child were fighting for their lives and there was nothing I could do to help them. Even Bobby might not be able to help them. My eyes filled with tears again as I remembered how weak she had been, how fragile. I would give anything for it to be me in there again, fighting for my life, instead of Steph. In a way, it was as if I was fighting for my life in there. They were my life, and if I lost them…if I lost Steph… My eyes were glued to that door, as if by staring at it, I could send them some of my strength. She wouldn't die, she couldn't. Not after everything we had been through. I need her, Michael needs a mother.

As if reacting to my intense stare, the door opened and Bobby came out. His expression was serious. And he looked exhausted.

I held my breath. Waiting. Hoping my best friend would tell me what I wanted to hear and dreading that he would say the words that would bring my world crashing down around me.

I met Bobby's eyes, and I almost cried at the relief I saw in them. "Both Steph and the baby made it, although Steph just barely. We almost lost her, but she should recover." he said.

I let out the breath I had been holding, and drew air in again. I sank onto the couch, shaking with the aftermath of my emotions. Tank, Binkie, and Bobby were high fiving each other and Binkie came over to slap me on the back. "See, man, I told you they'd make it," he said gleefully.

The doctor came up to me and started talking, and I looked at him, but my body was so numb with my relief that his words seemed incomprehensible to me.

"Mrs. Sonterra survived a code during surgery, after which we had to deliver the baby. We are getting her stabilized and into ICU now. She should fully recover, but we don't know if there will be any brain damage or memory loss from lack of oxygen during the code, "I heard the doc say.

The baby is a boy, he is 2 pounds, 1 ounce. He will need to be in NICU for respiratory support. Babies born at 29 weeks, can do very well long term. Congratulations, Mr. Sonterra."

I just nodded at the doctor, knowing that I was probably grinning like an idiot. My wife and son had survived. My world was intact.

Steph's POV

I felt my mind struggling through the darkness, past the beeping and swishing noises , towards the warmth next to me. I was pretty sure I was still alive, since my abdomen hurt . Dead people don't feel pain, do they? What the hell had happened to make my chest feel like it had been pounded with a battering ram? I managed to move one hand slightly to touch the pain in my flat abdomen. .MY. FLAT. ABDOMEN. Something was wrong with that- something was missing.

Awareness and panic flooded through me. Our baby. Where was my baby, our baby? Had I lost him? My breathing increased as I started to panic and the beeping sound came faster. I could hear myself screaming in my head, but the words I managed to force past my lips were blocked by the plastic oxygen mask covering my face. " What had happened to my baby? Wetness seeped out of my eyes and streaked down my cheeks.

The steady warmth and strength emanating from next to me spread, and I felt warmth on my forehead, on my face. The massive hand engulfed mine filling me with strength and comfort, and warm fingers touched my face as I heard that deep, soothing voice that always made everything in my world all right again. Vince.

"Shh, Steph, I'm right here. Its okay. You are going to be ok" His fingers wiped at the wetness on my cheeks, "don't cry. Its ok. I love you."

My eyes finally fluttered open and I saw reassurance on Vince's handsome face, his eyes almost reverent on mine, as if he hadn't believed he'd ever see my eyes again. He had circles and creases in his face and he hadn't shaved. He looked almost as bad as he had when He'd been in the hospital. He managed to grin at me, and his hand squeezed mine gently. "You will be fine, honey. Michael was born. He's going to be ok. You came close to dying, but you'll be ok too."

Relief shot through me and weakened my muscles even further. Thank God I hadn't lost our son. I spent a moment trying to steady my breathing and force my mind from the panic.

"I want to see him," I muttered, my voice weak. I had to see him. I kept repeating that.

Vice stroked my cheek, comforting me.

"He's in NICU. I'll get a doc here and see about getting you to see him."

The door opened and Bobby, Tank, and Binkie came in. They all looked worse for wear, but Bobby looked terrible, his handsome face etched with worry lines, concern in his eyes, his two day growth of beard. His face lit up though, when he saw me conscious. He studied the machines surrounding me for a moment, as if to reassure himself that I was doing better.

Bobby had seen me through the most terrible time of my life. Because of him, I was alive and my son was in the world. He was always there for me, and I knew that he loved me, too. He lifted me into a gentle hug. I heard his voice rumble in his chest as he whispered, " Steph, you scared the hell out of me. Don't ever do that to me again." He kissed the top of my head , then gently laid me back down.

He went over to clap Vince on the back, and they guy- hugged. I heard Vince whisper to him, in a shaky voice, " thanks man. I owe you."

Bobby and Vince were talking about something serious in low voices the corner of the room, but it was obviously something they didn't want me to hear.

Bobby came back over to me, kissed my head again, then left Vince and I alone.

" The doc will be here in a bit. He'll fix it up so you can go see Michael." I smiled and held Vince's hand. I couldn't wait to see our son.

Bobby's POV

Once Tank and I had reassured ourselves that Steph and little Michael were out of immediate danger, we went to the airfield to meet the guys. I was so relieved Steph was going to make it. She'd scared the hell out of me in the OR. I was so fucking tired. I am an elite soldier and medic, trained to handle combat situations, but what we'd dealt with here at home in the last few months was unbelievable.

Steph had gotten shot, then my boss and friend Ranger turned all fucking psycho, defiled the standards and core beliefs I defended in the military by betraying his country, and tried to kill my best friend. Ranger destroyed the business to which I had given years of dedicated service .Then Steph had an unplanned pregnancy with complications , Ranger tried to make her miscarry, then he forces more of my friends to risk their lives hunting him down like the psycho he had apparently become. Then, Steph has problems with the baby, they both almost die, and then Ranger…dies. It was almost too much to fucking deal with and I just needed about a month of sleep.

The guys were somber when we met them at the airport.

"Hey, how's Steph and the baby?" Les asked immediately.

" They both made it, but its going to be tough for Michael for awhile."

The relief that Steph and Michael had survived was almost palpable.

There was a slight commotion as my ex- SEAL teammate, Lew, came off the plane. He'd had surgery for a gunshot to the abdomen, but, true to the nature of SEALS, he'd refused to come off the plane on a stretcher or even a wheelchair. The stubborn bastard was walking off the plane, hunched over, supported one side by Zip, who also had a shoulder wound, and by Stan on the other.

"Hoo-yah, teammate," I said as I greeted him, trying to break some of the grim in the hangar. I felt gratitude that Lew and Stan had come and risked their lives fighting a battle that wasn't theirs and guilt that Lew had been seriously hurt helping a teammate. But that was just what SEALS did- helped teammates. "I owe you one, sir," I told him, slapping him on the back.

Ram came over to greet me, and taunted, " Notice the only injuries are to the NAVY guys. Us ARMY guys know how not to get shot."

Stan rolled his eyes, " That's cause SEALS are the only ones brave enough to get out there into the action. That's why they call us first."

"That's cause SEALS are fucking crazy," Hal countered.

It felt good to put aside the stress of the last few weeks for some banter with the guys.

The laughter turned to stone cold silence at the whine of a conveyor belt from the back of the plane. We all followed Tank to the back where a makeshift travel casket was being unloaded onto the belt.

"Ranger's in there?" I heard myself whisper, still in denial. I couldn't imagine Ranger actually IN a casket- DEAD.

My disbelief expressed itself. "Are you sure he's really in there? That its him?"

Les nodded, " We helped pack him in there ourselves."

Tank's POV

We were talking about "packing " Ranger in a casket like he was a fucking side of beef, and not one of my former, ALL of our former friends. I felt my eyes tear up as the casket moved down the conveyor belt. Ranger, my squadmate, friend, business partner, was in there -dead. My fast, strong, stealthy friend was lying in that box , cold and permanently still. I couldn't believe that could ever happen to Ranger. Part of me wanted to pry it open to see if it really was him in there. I put my hands to my face and cleared my throat against the tightness of my tears.

Ranger and I had survived so much together. We'd been through basic, fought, been tortured, and survived it together. In fact, I had survived BECAUSE of Ranger's strength and encouragement .He'd put his life on the line so many times to save his men. He'd been prepared to die for his country.

But he hadn't had to remind myself that Ranger hadn't died for his country- he had brought this on himself. How did such a fine, honorable man turn into such an evil fucker? What the fuck had happened to him?

The guys stood there next to me, their eyes also red with tears. Ranger had been their friend, their boss, their mentor, in many ways their hero. Ram had his head in his hands, trying to hide his watery eyes, feeling guilty for killing Ranger, even though it had to be done. Les put his hand on Ram's shoulder in a show of support.

Lew Koehl, and Stan Wolchonok, who only knew Ranger as an evil traitor to his country and homicidal bastard, seemed unmoved. To them , Ranger had been just another bad guy to be taken down.

I wiped my eyes as I watched the casket get loaded into the back of a van, I wondered again, "What the fuck had happened?"

Vince's POV

I reached out and so carefully touched my son's tiny hand, stroking the soft baby skin. He was the tiniest thing I had ever seen and it was hard to believe that any human could be so tiny and still be alive. I was been almost afraid to touch him, afraid I would hurt his frail little body. It hurt to see my son so frail, his chest rising and falling as the ventilator tube assisted his underdeveloped lungs. His body was dwarfed by wires and machines, but I was so grateful that they were helping keep him alive.

Steph sniffed and I held her carefully to me as she cried. The docs hadn't wanted to let her come here to the NICU yet, but I insisted, knowing she needed to see Michael. So I'd helped the nurse bundle her into a wheelchair, and we'd brought her down to see Michael, trailing her own portable IV and oxygen.

She'd wanted to hold him, but neither she nor Michael is strong enough for that right now. She held Michael's tiny hand, and I held hers. My own eyes clouded up with tears. Seeing the two most important people in my life, my reasons for living, so delicate and fragile, dependent on machines, was an unwanted reminder of the randomness and frailty of life. It would be a tough struggle for them. Michael would have a tough time developing as he overcomes being premature. And we still didn't know if there would be any long term affects from Steph's ordeal.

I thought about the long and bumpy road that had brought us to this point. Despite all the bad things Ranger had done, I had to give him credit for one thing. It was his treatment of Steph that had gotten us together, enabled us to discover our love for each other.

I held Steph against me, and touched my son's tiny little hand, giving them my strength and love.

Next:Epilogue


	46. Chapter 46

Acceptance- Epilogue

_**Author's Note: Writing this epilogue brings tears to my eyes. I hate to say goodbye to this story, since it has meant so much to me. It has been catharsis for me through two of the worst periods in my life so far. I hope I have done it proud. Thank you all for reading.**_

_**I will be posting an angsty, alternate ending soon.**_

_**Please leave feedback, as I live for it.**_

Steph's POV

Vince escorted me to a chair at the memorial service, next to Hal and Lester. I was released from the hospital two days ago, with orders to take it easy. I still have residual high blood pressure, and doctors are trying to stabilize it with medication. I may have it the rest of my life, but that's a small price to pay for my son.

Since Bobby told the guys what happened in the delivery OR, they have been seriously overprotective, treating me like I am made of antique porcelain. They were afraid that coming to Ranger's services would be too upsetting for me. But they also knew that I needed to come. I had to see Ranger to believe that he could never hurt me again. The guys had all been through this horrible ordeal with Ranger and we all needed closure so we can all move on.

Lester escorted me up to the front, and gave me a moment in front of Ranger's open casket. I think the primary reason for the open casket was so everyone could tell that it really was Ranger, and he really was dead. It was the only way that anyone would believe that Ranger, indestructible Ranger, Ranger who had cheated death so many times, was gone forever. I knelt on the cushion next to the casket and looked down at Ranger's still form. It was hard to see him so still. I kept expecting him to move. I felt tears start to slip from my eyes as I touched his hand.

What a terrible waste. He was so young, so handsome and strong, and should have had decades more to live. I had once loved this man, and there was a time when I believed he had loved me. He had taught me so many things, given me a job. Tears trickled down my cheeks as I mourned the man that he had been. I hated him for what he did to Vince, to me, to my son. But I mourned the good that had been in him. Judging by how packed the room was with military uniforms, he had touched a lot of lives. But he was dead from his own folly. No one would have ever imagined Ranger doing all the terrible things he'd done at the end. "What happened to you?" I whispered through my tears.

I tried to think back to all the time I had known Ranger to figure out what had made such a good man become so evil. Surely it hadn't been just that he wanted me back after I fell in love with Vince. There are millions of women who would have loved to be with Ranger. I sighed, causing a twinge in my still painful abdomen. I reached out and stroked his still, cold cheek, part of me still expecting to see his eyes open. "Goodbye Ranger." I whispered, putting that chapter of my life behind me and looking ahead to a new life.

Tank's POV

I shouldered part of the heavy casket towards the gravesite. Ranger was being buried in a veteran's cemetery. His coffin was draped with an American flag to honor his military service. I guess that was appropriate. He had devoted much of his life to the military and saved many soldiers lives. Does the fact that he later betrayed his country nullify the fact that he served it?

We had discussed this during the arrangements. According to the US military, the mission Vince was on that Ranger purposely sabotaged was highly covert, beyond "Top Secret." Therefore, officially the mission never existed, so the sabotaging of the mission also never existed. In military records, Ranger continued to be a hero, serving his country and deserving of military honors.

The guys and I put the casket down, and then we all just stared at the coffin. I know it was Ranger in there, but part of me still didn't believe it. We'd been through so much together, he and I. I thought of us way back in boot camp. I remembered his stupid grin of delight when we'd blasted out of that druglord's compound in Columbia. Not to mention the numerous times we sucked sand together in the Middle East. Les and Bobby had been with us there, too. Ranger had saved each of our lives at one time or another. My eyes were flooded with tears, and I looked at the ground , knowing that if I kept looking at the casket I was going to break into tears and embarrass myself in front of everyone.

Bobby, who was standing next to me, brushed his arm and met my eyes. Bobby's were tear-filled as mine. Well, so I wouldn't be the only one who could embarass himself by breaking down in tears. The big question was evident in Bobby's eyes as well-WHY?

The answer was- who the fuck knew. I'd wracked my brain for something- anything- that might explain how a good man like Ranger could become a homicidal maniac. It couldn't have been Ranger's military service. I mean, no one else who was there went around trying to kill people. He didn't seem to have any weird medical conditions. Could it have been the anger at losing Steph to Vince that made him snap? That was minor in the grand scheme of things, compared to everything else Ranger had survived. I know Steph and Vince , especially, want to know why.

Why the hell do things like this happen.? You see it on the news all the time. Why does a loving family man go on a murder spree? Why does some law abiding person just snap? Or in Ranger's case, why does a soldier who'd been trained to save lives suddenly start to use his deadly skills to kill the ones he loves? Why does a man turn on his country? His best friend? The woman he used to love?

People always say something trite, like, "Its all part of God's plan," or " there is a plan for everyone." But those are just lame attempts to provide an answer when there is none. The only answer that we will get- the one we will all have to accept- is that we don't know why. We will probably never know why Ranger did what he did. All we can do is accept that he did those things, deal with them, and get on with our lives.

_Six months later_

Steph's POV

The six months since Ranger's death have been full of surprises. The biggest of those came at the reading of Ranger's will. We were shocked to find that he left his half of Rangeman, and all his assets, to Vince and I. And he had changed his will to do this, without telling anyone but his lawyer AFTER he tried to kill Vince and Michael. Why would he bequeath all his assets to us after he tried so hard to kill us? Maybe he felt guilty. Maybe it was his way of making amends. It definitely proves that Ranger wasn't all evil. Like Darth Vader, evil Ranger still had some good buried deep within him.

Vince and I sold some of our half of Rangeman to Bobby and Les, so now Tank, Bobby, Vince, and Les are partners in Rangeman. Well, they are partners in what used to be Rangeman. Due to all the bad publicity during the manhunt for Ranger, Rangeman had lost most of its clients and some of its assets. Besides, the name was too closely associated with Ranger.

The new company is called "Elite Force Security," and its housed in the same building as Rangeman. I insisted the guys keep the all black uniforms, because well, have you SEEN the guys in the all black uniforms? They have been working hard to get back old clients and new ones, and they have been able to hire back Woody, Ram, Hal, Zip, and Binkie. So far, the new business is prospering. I work as the PR person for Elite, getting new clients. I occasionally go into the field, but after everything I have been through, I won't go on dangerous calls anymore. I leave that to my hubby and the guys.

Vince and I bought this townhome, just blocks from Rangem…uh, Elite Force. He is such an amazing husband. He never forgets to show me by word and deed how much he loves me. And the sex is nothing short of earth shattering.

He is also an incredible father. Mikey absolutely adores him. It is so sexy to see Vince walking around the house, his son nestled on one of his massive biceps. Nothing is sexier than seeing a strong , powerful man so gentle with a little baby. Vince had been afraid to hold him in the hospital, but now they go everywhere together. Vince will do crunches with Michael lying on his stomach and they will gaze into each other's his eyes. Mikey has his daddy's rich chocolate eyes. Vince will even do one handed pushups holding Mikey on his back. When Mikey wakes in the middle of the night, Vince will walk him around the house and rock him until he falls asleep. I once found Mikey in his daddy's arms in the rocking chair, both sound asleep. That was beyond adorable. You should see Vince put Mikey to bed. He'll give him a bottle, and read him a story making a hilariously silly voice for each character. I think Vince can read Goodnight, Moon in his sleep.

He works at Elite, but he is still doing some work for the military. I realized that his loyalty to his country is part of what makes Vince the man I love. Serving his country is literally a part of who he is. Since he's the best sniper in the world, he trains others in shooting. His contract specifies that he only does training missions, no more combat. And although he can travel anywhere in the world, he is never gone for more than a few days a month. Yes, I miss him when he leaves, and so does MIkey. But part of loving Vince is letting him do what he loves. And he is setting such a good example for Mikey. Besides, the extra money is great.

Its not like we're on our own when Vince is gone. I will always have the guys. Mikey and I are surrounded by his eight uncles and tons of testosterone. Seeing the guys all dressed in suits for Mikey's Christening almost made me faint. They all swear like sailors but they are so careful of their language in front of the baby. They helped baby proof the house before we brought him home. Even when they come from work, they always lock their guns in the car or in Vince's gunsafe as soon as they come in. It is so cute to see these big badass guys who can kill with their bare hands holding and cooing to this tiny baby. I even took a picture of Zip doing it.

Bobby is Mikey's godfather and he absolutely dotes on him. Mikey can barely even sit up yet, but Uncle Bobby already takes him wading in the pool with his tiny little floaties on. Maybe my boy is a future NAVY SEAL. Bobby is the only one of the guys, besides Vince, who isn't afraid of changing a dirty diaper. Uncle Lester got Mikey a custom made rattle in the shape of plastic handcuffs, and a mobile with little plastic army guys on it. Mikey loves to rub Uncle Tank's bald head. Tank, big, badass Tank actually takes Mikey on runs. What a sight to see this enormous badass black guy pushing this tiny little stroller, stopping to make sure the sun isn't in Mikey's face.

Hal refused to hold Mikey at first because he is so enormous and Mikey is so tiny, that he was afraid of dropping or hurting him. Then, one day, Vince just tossed Michael onto Hal's lap with a bottle, and the rest as they say, is history. Mikey just loves it when his Uncle Hal hides under the baby blanket playing peek-a-boo. Mikey just smiles goofily when Hal's head pops up from under the blanket.

Right now Mikey's daddy and Uncles Lester and Bobby are outside in the backyard putting together the baby swingset and playground equipment that Mikey is still too young to use. It comes complete with swings, slide, jungle jim, and chin up bar. I am sure by tomorrow, Vince will be squeezing his huge body onto the tiny slide going down with Mikey in his lap, or Les will be on the swing holdind Michael.

I never dreamed I could ever have such a great life, with a super sexy husband who adores me, a beautiful baby, and a bunch of guy friends who would do anything for me. I know with them around Mikey and I will never need anything.

I still sometimes think about Ranger, and the ordeal he put us through. I may never know why he did what he did, but it doesn't matter now, because I came through it happier in the end.

THE END- THANK YOU FOR READING.

Stay tuned for alternate- Angsty ending.


	47. Chapter 47

Acceptance- Alternate Ending

**This ending would begin after Chapter 44, and replace chapters 45 and the Epilogue.**

_**TISSUE WARNING: THIS ALTERNATE ENDING IS ANGSTY AND FEATURES CHARACTER DEATH. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**_

I had to write an alternate ending because, as much as I love a happy ending, I also like angsty ones.

_**If you get through it, please leave feedback, as I live for it.**_

Bobby's POV

I watched in a daze as the frantic efforts continued over Stephanie. " Please, honey, Vince needs you, that baby needs you, I need you" I whispered to her, hoping my pleading would encourage Steph to fight harder. Fuck. We can't lose Steph. I love her. Vince loves her. I promised I'd take care of her. But there was nothing I could do that wasn't already being done. "You are stronger than this,b aby," I whisper. After all the turmoil of the last several months, the ordeals that I had gotten her through, there was nothing I could do for her now. All my strength wasn't helping her. My eyes clouded and my vision blurred as I watched the vigorous thrusts on her chest, the frantic efforts to revive her.

They were still trying, even now, not wanting to give up because she was so young and had a baby that needed her. They kept working on her, even after it was obvious it was hopeless, trying to pull off a miracle and bring her back to life. For over an hour they had tried everything over and over again, with absolutely no response. The doc looked at me, then the monitor, then the code clock, and called it.

Immediately the frantic noise in the room stopped and the room became completely silent. Steph was dead.

I felt like the floor had dropped away beneath my feet, like I had fallen into a giant chasm. After everything I had seen Steph through, after she and Vince could have finally had their happily ever after, it ends like this? My immense sadness mixed with guilt. I had been the one who was supposed to save her, to take care of her, and I had failed.

Vince was my best friend, and he had entrusted me with the two things he loved most in the world, and I had failed to take care of one of them. I watched in a daze as the team started to disconnect wires and clean Steph up. Steph was always so vibrant, always moving, now she was locked forever in the stillness of death.

My feet felt like lead, but I managed to make them move toward the OR door. Not only was I dealing with my own grief, I had to destroy my best friend's world, to admit to him that I failed him. That my godson was going to have to grow up without a mother. That I had let Steph die.

I stumbled out of the OR, wanting to break the news to Vince and the guys before the doctor did.

Vince knew, from the moment I got through the doorway, that there was bad news. It was impossible for me to keep my grief and anger hidden, and he saw it in my eyes. He stumbled backwards into a chair as I approached, and Tank and Binkie flanked us.

I had such a huge lump in my throat that I could barely get the words out. " Michael was delivered but, the stress caused Steph to have a massive stroke and , we…couldn't…get…her back. We tried to get her back for an hour , man, but , we lost her. I am so sorry…" I told him, my voice dissolving into tears as I finished the sentence. Now I was in a chair my head in my hands, weeping outright. This was my fault. I am the medic, I was the one supposed to take care of her, and I hadn't. I had failed Steph, Vince, the guys, and most of all I had failed little Michael. I know I had never cried like this before, especially not in front of the guys, but I couldn't help myself.

Tank and Binkie exchanged a shocked look, then Binkie put his hand on my shoulder, not saying anything, just offering his support. Vince sat next to me, and I could only imagine his grief.

Vince's POV

I knew. From the moment I saw Bobby leave the OR, I knew. I saw the agony in his eyes. His mouth moved, , the words he said ending my world. Then I saw him collapse in the chair next to mine, sobbing. I just stared, numb, my breath caught in my throat, swaying slightly. I felt myself being eased backwards into a chair, and Tank shoving my head between my legs. "Are..you..sure…?" I managed to gasp out, hoping it was a mistake or a horribly bad joke.

Tank's voice whispered in my ear. "Vince, man, did you hear what Bobby said. I am so sorry ,man…"

Tank was crouching next to me, and I saw that his eyes were red, and filled with unshed tears, and I knew that it was no mistake- that she was gone. I raised my head back up and just sat in the chair, just staring straight ahead, feeling like a giant hole had been carved inside me. I heard Bobby sobbing next to me, and I knew he felt guilty. But it wasn't his fault. He loved her , too. I knew he had taken such good care of her, and I was certain that he had done everything he could to save her. All I could manage to do was put a hand on his shoulder.

It wasn't Bobby's fault, but I felt my hands clench with rage as I remembered whose fault it was. Ranger's. Everything he had put her through in the last few months, hurting me, stalking her, all of that had caused her so much stress and contributed to her death. I wanted to kill him with my bare hands, but Tank said he was already dead. I hoped the fucker was in the deepest section of hell, and disappointed that I wasn't the one to kill him for her.

I thought about Steph's beautiful blue eyes, her curls, her smile, all of which I would never see again. After all we had been through, after all she had, we were on the brink of a happy life together, so how could she leave me now? I felt my face lose some of its numbness and grow hot, my lips contorting, my eyes stinging. I wanted to see her, one last time, and Tank was trying to arrange it, since Bobby was in no condition to. I sat there, cold, unfeeling, as if I, too were dead.

Bobby stopped sobbing and pulled himself together, saying he would go check on Michael. Binkie's eyes were red as he met mine. " I'll call her mom, and your parents, and whoever you need me to," he said, his own grief reflected on his face. Tank helped me stand and supported my weight as I stumbled down the hall to see Steph for the last time.

My whole life, I have never wanted to give up, to crumble and just lay where I fell. I have never given in. But I felt that way now, I just wanted to let myself give in to the grief and come apart, curl up somewhere and die. But then I looked down at the fragile little scrap of life in the clear box, attached to wires and tubes. My son. Our son. Steph had given her life to bring him into the world. I owed it to him, and to her, to stay strong and raise him. How the hell was I going to do that? I was on my own. The responsibility for this precious little life rested solely on me. I didn't know anything about being a dad, let alone a mom, too. Little Michael Robert was going to need a mom, but I was all he had. Steph couldn't be his mom, but I would make sure he knew he had one, and how much she'd loved him.

I reached out and touched his tiny hand, stroking it carefully. " Hey, Mikey, Daddy loves you. Mommy loved you too, but she can't be with us now. Its just you and me, man. " I explained as if he could actually hear or understand me. I felt some of the numbness wear off, and sorrow, despair, anger, and fear overcame me. The door opened and my mother came in to see Mikey.

"Vince, honey, I am so sorry about Stephanie," she whispered, taking my head in her hands as if I were still a little boy. One look into her loving eyes and my grief came bubbling up inside and overwhelmed me and I finally broke down in tears. She just sat and put her arms around me, comforting me the way only a mother can. My poor little son would never have a mother's love to comfort him, and that thought made me cry even harder.

Lester's POV

When Binkie met us at the airbase with the bad news about Steph, there was a moment where everyone seemed frozen in shock, then Zip and Hal started hitting him. I had to pull them off of him. After all, he was only the messenger, not the responsible party.

"Guys, back off. It isn't Binkie's fault," I told them, barely able to talk through my tears.

Steph, dead. It hurt to even imagine those two words next to each other in a sentence. Now they were reality. I couldn't imagine our lives, our existence without her smile, without her gorgeous blue eyes. I felt the numbness receed, and tears rolled uncontrollably down my face.

"What about the baby?" I asked in the small voice I could choke past the giant lump in my throat.

"Alive but really premature," was all he said, his own eyes clouding. Oh, fuck, what about

"Vince?" I asked. Binkie just shrugged. What the hell could he say? How else would Vince be but shattered , devastated, empty.

Binkie's eye, read and puffy from unshed tears, moved to the coffin now coming off the transport plane. 'Ranger?" he asked.

Suddenly, the grief I had been feeling for the loss of my friend Ranger left me and I became livid.

This was HIS fault. Ranger, that fucking bastard. He had cost us Stephanie. We all realized it at the same time. Hal and Ram were staring at the coffin, and I knew if they could, they'd take Ranger out of there and beat the shit out of him all over again. He had died too easily. He hadn't suffered enough for costing Steph her life, costing Vince his wife, and little Mikey his mother.

What the hell were we going to do without Steph?

3 months later

Vince's POV

I sat in the rocking chair, watching our tiny infant son suck on a bottle, losing himself in sleep. I wished he could lose myself in something, but I can't because my son needs me. I haven't slept well for almost three months, because I needed to wake up for the baby.

Steph's services, her funeral, and her burial are all just a blur in my mind. They say the mind blocks out memories that are too painful to remember. That must be true because just thinking of the funeral now makes my chest hurt. I don't even remember planning it, I was too numb. I think my mom and the guys made all the arrangements. I just remember the music and all the flowers. Steph would have loved all the flowers. And there were so many people, many total strangers to me, who had known and loved Steph. She was always down on herself, but she'd have loved to know how many people's lives she had touched.

My mother and father had moved into town, just down the block, so they helped with Mikey all the time. Bobby was not only the best friend in the world, but the best godfather, too. He had saved my life, and tried so hard to save Steph's. I know he will always feel guilty for not being able to save Steph, but we both knew he'd taken such good care of her. I knew he would do anything for Mikey and I.

Bobby, Les, Ram, and I had managed to buy the other half of Rangeman, now opened with Tank under the name Elite Security. I worked for Elite, mostly just on monitors and for routine accounts. Mikey only had me, so I wouldn't risk any high risk or dangerous jobs. I also had a contract where I would do occasional training for the military, but nothing risky. Yes, I missed the excitement, but my son was the most important thing in the world to me now, his need for a father came first.

One thing this little guy would never lack is love. He had a father and six uncles who loved him dearly. Tank, or Les, or Ram would always come and play with him, or take him to the park, or just babysit him so I could go running. Every car in the Elite Security fleet has a baby seat in the back. The guys are so busy showering him with love and attention, maybe trying to make up for the fact that his mom can't be with him anymore. Both sets of his grandparents dote on him, as does Ella. The nursery was filled with more toys than a Toys R Us.

Or maybe they all love just seeing his blue eyes. Mikey's eyes look so much like Steph's it sometimes hurts me to look at them. His hair will probably turn out to be the same color as hers, too. Looking at him reminds us all of her. He is all we have left of her.

The guys and I go to the cemetery every week to see Steph , and there are always fresh flowers on her gravestone. When Mikey is older, I will take him to "see" his mommy, too.

I try not to think about Ranger and what he did to me, and to Steph. He is dead, and although I wish I'd been the one to torture and kill him painfully, there was nothing I could do about it now. I didn't have the energy to actively hate him, I was using all my energy to keep myself from crumbling in grief so I can raise Steph's and my child.

I look around the nursery at all the crazy animals Steph had Tank stencil in here. That was so like her, it made tears come flooding back. Mikey will never know his mom in person, but he will know all about her. He will know how much she loved him and wanted him, and how she had died bringing him into the world. My mother wants me and the guys to help pick out pictures for a photo album of Steph for Mikey to look at as he gets older. I talk to him about Mommy every day, the things she liked, disliked, her dreams for him.

Mikey has a dad, loving grandparents, and doting "uncles", but nothing makes up for not having a mom. She can't be with us physically, but we will always love her, and she will always be part of Mikey's life.

THE END. THIS STORY IS COMPLETE. YOU CAN CHOOSE THE ENDING YOU LIKE BEST. THANK YOU FOR READING.


End file.
